Summer Camp
by ThatisneverThat
Summary: AU. Clara Oswald needs something to entertain her this summer, so what better way to start than being a summer camp leader. Danny Pink is doing a friend a favour and helping out at the same camp. They meet early, taking an early dislike, but will that last?
1. Chapter 1

**So here's the deal - this is my Camp NaNoWriMo story, but as motivation I'm going to keep posting updates on here. Quite proud to get chapter 1 up on day 1 (okay so it's just gone midnight but who's counting). It'd be great if you could read and review. I'll be going back to Earthly Wonders next month.**

The summer holidays weren't the happy time for Clara they were for everyone else. The idea of not teaching for the next 6 weeks did not cheer her up in any way. The last day of term had been spent listening to everyone else talking about their exotic holidays and various plans with the kids. The difference was that they were going home to partners, children, families – she was going home to silence. Sure her Dad was still around but he seemed to be kept constantly busied by Linda these days and her Gran had long since passed. It was times like this that she missed the Doctor, missed her travels, but it didn't take her long to remember why she stopped. Her daydream was stopped by a heard of year 10s screaming goodbye to her, clearly very happy to not have to see their English teacher for 6 weeks. She managed some sort of response, which was quickly added to by Courtney announcing she wouldn't miss her. Clara had to laugh, Courtney was hardly the pupil she was going to miss the most either.

"You going home Miss Oswald?" The familiar sound of Adrian came from the door, "I'm sure you have things to do."

"Mmm packing to finish off, nothing overly exciting," she smiled as he came in. Adrian was definitely her closest friend at the school, not that she didn't get on with any of the other staff, he just knew her the best. He'd known everything she'd gone through, and was there for the most part. He appreciated her lack of love for the holidays more than most.

"Ah your summer camp. You're mad you know that? I'm not sure there's any other teacher in the country that would break up from term and immediately head off to spend the week with a different bunch of teenagers. Still, enjoy yourself, I want pictures of you hanging from a zip wire," he grinned and grabbed the pile of textbooks off her desk to put away.

"I'm sure you do. I'll call you when I'm back and I'll fill you in on all the excitement if you wish, I'm sure I'll need a drink by that point," she put the final bits away and grabbed her bag.

"Sounds like a plan to me. I know I've been making rather a joke of all this, but really – enjoy, I'm glad you've found something to do, take your mind off things a little," he smiled and Clara nodded. "Come on you, get out of here and don't you dare get all emotional on me now." Adrian grinned and pulled her in for a quick hug. "See you soon."

Clara walked out to her car, looking back at the school. She'd be back soon enough, but it was always very different being in without the kids. None the less, she was quite looking forward to the next week. Summer camp would be something different that was for sure, but she was determined it would be good.

* * *

He'd much rather have been travelling to Spain or Greece, but instead he was heading to somewhere just west of Bournemouth for a summer camp full of more teenagers. It was not his idea of a great holiday, but he'd owed Frankie a favour and it seemed this was it. She was running the camp and was a leader short – that's where he came in. Unfortunately for him, he'd booked his holiday a few weeks later; therefore no excuse was to be had.

"You know if you put a smile on you might _actually_ enjoy this," Frankie told him as they drove down. She'd been there a couple of days now but had come back to collect a few bits and pick him up to save a car. "I thought you enjoyed your job anyway?"

"I do, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy a break once in a while," he moaned, looking out the window.

"Well you've got another 5 weeks after this, just try eh? It's such a good week; the activities are definitely your sort of thing," she told him.

"Mmm well I suppose they do sound good..." he looked around at her and grinned, "of course I'm looking forward to it idiot, maybe it's not my idea of fun normally but I'm sure it will be great."

Frankie was an old mate from the army and they'd kept in touch ever since. She lived pretty close anyway, but she worked elsewhere. Danny had started working at the school in the previous September and was loving every minute, but he hadn't really told anyone much about his past and was grateful to have someone who understood. Despite the faces he'd been pulling, he was actually vaguely looking forward to the week ahead. Action packed with a group of teenagers actually did intrigue him just a little; it was his specialty after all.

* * *

When Clara arrived early the next morning she was greeted by a friendly looking face who she could only assume was Frankie.  
"Hi there, Clara right?" The woman came over, "I'm Frankie – we spoke on the phone a bit. I'd like to say I'm not some weird stalker but I've spent the last week staring at photos of everyone to try and learn names, so I suppose I am a little odd."

"We've all been there. Nice to meet you in person, this place looks fantastic by the way," Clara looked around at the cabins and the vast site around.

"Yeah it's not half bad here, love it. Anyway, let me show you where we're staying…" she directed her to a building and they went inside. "Made sense for us to be in here, there're individual rooms for us all. You're in 19, upstairs and left."

"Thanks, I'm sure I can find it you've probably got better things to do for now," she grinned, "please let me know if I can do anything to help at any point, that is basically what I'm here for anyway."

"No no you get settled, none of the kids are arriving until later you've got time. We'll brief at lunch – 1pm by the way, there's a map in your room." Clara nodded, thanking her again before heading upstairs. She reached down in to her bag to find her phone, stopping just short of her room to look properly as she could hear it start to ring.

"Hey!" Clara reacted automatically as someone bumped in to her and caused her to drop her bag. "Look where you're going for goodness sake!" She looked up at the man in front of her who didn't move. "Alright, I'll pick it up then, geez…" Clara crouched down and picked up her bag and the few bits that had fallen out. "Do you speak or not?"

"Yes, sorry, I'm still half asleep. Can I help you carry anything?" He asked, but Clara just rolled her eyes, "what?"

"My room is right there, I think I can manage tah. I suggest you get some more sleep, not sure you're going to do a great job looking after kids if you're that tired," she informed him, moving forward towards her door.

"Well I'm not convinced you're going to do a great job being in that mood either, so I wish them luck and I guess I'll see you later," he went to walk off down the corridor.

"Let's hope not," she murmured in reply and opened the door as he continued walking away. The room itself was actually lovely, it had a double bed and a sweet little desk by the window which had a beautiful view, calming her immediately. She dropped her stuff on the bed and moved around the edge of the desk to climb on to the windowsill and sit, looking out. Thankfully she had actually found her phone and dropped Adrian a quick text to let him know she was still alive.

 _Made it, only met the one obnoxious man so far – unfortunately not a teenager! None the less, beautiful view to look out at for a little while before lunch. Hope you're having a good day x._

The reply came almost instantly and she had to laugh.

 _I'm sure you can take him, you might be small but I wouldn't like to make you angry – I've seen the results! Don't let him get you down, have a great time x._

She sat there for around half an hour, just looking out at the vast fields, houses and in the distance the coastline that she could see. This was definitely her idea of heaven, but she couldn't stay there forever. Clara got up, unpacked her case and then head down for lunch.

* * *

After lunch ended, Frankie started to sort them out. There were 10 groups, 2 leaders and 8 children to each group. The ages ranged from 14-17 and many of them had been before according to her stats. Eventually she started calling out names – one male and one female for each.

"Clara Oswald, group 6 with Danny Pink." Clara started to move towards to the table she'd pointed at, and quickly realised who was following. She groaned internally, deciding it was probably wise not to show her displeasure to the wider staff members. Danny, as she now knew he was called, sat down while she leant against the edge, facing away from him. Frankie finished organising the groups and then turned around to face where they were now all stood.  
"Right, you're going to be spending most of the next week with each other so I'd suggest you get to know each other. You have a list on your table of those in your group and each group will be in a cabin. They'll start arriving in about an hour and it'd be good if before then you could check out where they'll be staying and then try and meet them as they arrive. I'd appreciate as much help as possible to get everyone in and settled by 4 so we can head out orienteering by half 4. It's a bit tight, but just gives us more time later on. I'll leave you all to sort that out, I have other things to do," she smiled and jumped off the chair she'd been stood on and jogged off.

"Well, that leaves us with this list then…" Danny spoke, picking it up. Clara sighed, knowing she had no choice but to turn around and sit down opposite him. "Oh Toby and Ben Higham, they're in my maths class – didn't know they were coming." Clara raised an eyebrow, "they're twins, can be troublemakers but generally alright."

"That's not what I was questioning. You're a maths teacher?" She asked, struggling to believe this man could control a class of children.

"Why is that such a problem? Are you a maths teacher?" He responded, putting the list back down.

"English, if you must know," Clara told him and picked up the paper.

"Well that explains a lot then," he smirked and she was quick to give him a look before returning to read the names. "English teachers are the ones that always insist on correcting your grammar and quoting Shakespeare. Always seem to act like they're higher than everyone else for no particular reason and… what now?" he said as she slammed the paper down on the table.

"Oh I have no idea what could possibly be wrong. This week just gets better and better, and it's only just begun. I'm going to find the cabin, you coming?" Clara stood up, letting him pick up the list and walking off, leaving everyone else still on the getting to know you stage but she was already done with that.

She'd already memorised the map while sat on the windowsill earlier so it didn't take long to find their group's place to stay. She walked inside, looking around the large room with 4 bunk beds inside and two bathrooms – one male and one female.  
"I'd suggest we put girls one end and boys the other for ease. Oh, and girls that end away from the door – just trust me on that one. Are you going to talk again or…?" she turns to see him still stood at the entrance.

"I thought it potentially safer not to, I'll just nod instead," he told her. "Should we go and meet them then? Time is getting on." They actually had plenty of time, but the awkwardness and tension of this whole situation was becoming more than either of them wanted to handle.

"How about you meet them in the car park and I'll wait here?" He was happy to agree and soon disappeared, leaving Clara in the cabin. Once he was gone she was actually able to admire the actual beauty of the room. It was totally made of wood, giving it a real feel of being out in nature. She was actually a little jealous that they got to spend the week sleeping in here, it really was lovely. Clara stood at the end, looking out of the window for a while, only interrupted by a somewhat familiar voice entering.

"Miss Oswald?!" She spun around to see the face of Courtney Wood's facing her. "Didn't know you were helping here, how cool! Hey, does this mean I get to call you Clara because that's hilarious." Peace had ended, that was for sure.

"I suppose it does Courtney, I'm sure you'll get over it. Who's this with you?" Clara asked, putting on her special face she saved just for her 'favourite' pupil.

"This is Karlie, we met last year here," she turned to the other girl, "this is my English teacher, it's gonna be a right laugh this," Karlie seemed to grin a little at this but did look up.

"Lovely, well if you two head over there and fight over top and bottom bunk, sort yourselves out and get unpacked we don't have long before we head out for our first activity." She told them, letting them by and going closer to the door to wait for the others.

They arrived slowly over the next hour – Alice, Amy, Pierce, Jonah and finally the twins that Danny had mentioned. He followed behind now they were all here, helping to chivvy them along and get sorted.

"Miss, sorry, Clara, do you and Danny not like each other?" Courtney Woods, always the observant child, sometimes she wished she'd put the same effort in to her work.

"What on earth would make you say that?" she asked, glancing to Danny and crossing her arms.

"Aha! She's doing the defensive thing, they definitely don't get on!" Courtney turned back to Karlie and Alice, giggling away together. Clara looked at Danny again and gestured for them to go outside.

"Do you need to make it so obvious?!" Danny asked her once they were out of earshot.

"Me?! You're the one who started all this," Clara replied, "look, we have to work together for the next week and we've got absolutely no hope of controlling 8 children if they think we're not working together."

"I never wanted to start anything, I happened to bump in to you earlier it's you that's started all this bitterness!" Danny told her angrily, "but yes, we do at least need to pretend to get on for the next week. After that we most likely won't cross paths again. Might I suggest we agree to disagree and focus on the rabble in there?" He held a hand out which she reluctantly shook.

"Deal. We'd better get them over to start, let's see how this goes…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone who has read already x**

The kids were more than excitable about the prospect of heading off in to the woods. Danny also seemed rather enthusiastic, already talking about team plans and roles. Clara left him to it, watching and vaguely listening to what he was saying. She was more than aware that Courtney was watching her every move and trying to find something to entertain her mates with so she was making sure to stick to the book.

"Everyone know what they're doing?" There was an enthusiastic response as they all took the maps and sheets from him. "Brilliant, let's go!" She had to admit he seemed to know what he was doing, but he was still grating on her and it made the idea of the rest of this week less fun than it had originally seemed. Nevertheless, she followed as they walked off towards the wood, watching as the group worked together to follow the map. "This should be fun," he had appeared beside her while she hadn't been focussing and it made her jump a little.

Clara quickly composed herself before replying. "If you say so, they seem excited anyway that's the most important thing. Working pretty well together too," she went to congratulate him on organising them but couldn't quite manage it. "Brave decision putting Courtney in charge," she added.

"Seems like a born leader to me, should be good at it," he replied. Clara had to stifle a laugh, "what? And you would know better?"

"I see that girl 4 times a week, I'm well aware of her personality and I'm not sure born leader would be my first thought, but we'll roll with it. She's very observant, that should help her out here at the very least. Just watch her closely; honestly don't take your eye off." Clara warned him, jogging forward a little to walk along with Pierce and Amy.

"Is Courtney right? Do you two not like each other?" Pierce asked and Clara rolled her eyes at him.

"We only met this morning Pierce; I'm not sure how anyone could make that conclusion just now. Danny and I are your leaders, nothing more. Now, how's it going here?" She asked, looking over at their sheets and maps.

"Good, Courtney knows where we're going; I think we're nearly at the first one it should be just around the next corner. How come you're here then Clara? I thought teachers just went on holiday all summer" This kid asked a lot of questions, but she had to give it to him – he seemed innocent enough.

"Well some of us have got nothing better to do," she smiled, "nah I just fancied helping that's all. Have you guys been before?" Clara asked, looking up a little to see Courtney studying the map.

"I came 2 years ago," Amy told her, "it's really good fun, everyone has a really good time."

"It's my first time," Pierce responded, "my Mum sort of made me come but I'm actually pretty excited now."

"Found it!" Courtney shouted from the front and the two kids immediately ran off to see. Clara followed slowly as Danny sped by her to see how they were doing. She had to confess orienteering mostly confused her, so it was better left to them. They wrote down what was needed and immediately headed off again.

Clara walked behind the group for a while, enjoying the fresh air. This area was full of beautiful green trees and lovely flowers and the whole thing was somewhat relaxing. Having come straight from work to here she'd not really had a chance to cool down from the madness that was term time. Finally she could take 2 minutes to breathe and appreciate the beautiful sights around her. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she quickly glanced at it, laughing at the picture of Adrian with his little niece along with a message asking how things were going. She slipped it away for now, deciding to reply once they were done here.

"Boyfriend?" Clara jumped at Danny's voice having not realised he had come back to her.

"None of your business," she replied, but when he gave her another look she added, "just a colleague, if you must know. Are you not needed further forward?"

"They're managing fine and you looked lonely," he told her, to which she scoffed.

"Whatever, I'm fine thanks," she told him, and they didn't speak again for a good while.

It was only after 15 minutes where they hadn't found anything that Clara started questioning the route. She grabbed the map from Danny's hand and had a look, tracing back in her mind the route they had taken. "Courtney hold up!" she called and they all stopped, looking round "Are you sure about where we're going?" Clara asked, walking over to her. "Are you sure we're heading the right way?" She asked.

"Of course, you know Geography is my best subject," she told her somewhat obnoxiously. "We're just here look," she pointed out somewhere, "the next post should be just after this corner," Clara stared at the map.

"I'm really not convinced that's where we are," she told her, looking to Danny.

"Just let her lead us, you haven't exactly been paying much attention," he nodded to Courtney to carry on, to which she lead the others off. Clara stopped Danny from moving off straight away. "Clara for goodness sake just let me handle this will you?" she went to say something, but stopped herself, just shaking her head and following after the young people.

It didn't take long before they all realised she had been right. Danny gathered them together to take another look at the map. Clara kept back for a while, listening to them discuss it before she glances at her watch.  
"Look guys, we're miles away from camp and we've only got half an hour before dinner. Might I suggest we let Danny guide us back as he seems to have experience," she resisted adding how he'd ignored that fact they were going in the wrong direction. Courtney relented, and Danny quickly took charge and led them back.

They were on track again soon enough, and this time he stuck with them to get them quickly through the rest of the course before dinner. They arrived back at the dining hall in the nick of time and the group ran in to join the dinner line, leaving Clara and Danny outside.  
"There was no need to undermine me like that!" Clara told him the moment they were alone, "I was right and you knew that the moment I pointed it out, so why do that?!" Danny took a step back.

"Wow chill out, I just wanted them to realise their own mistake that's all," he told her, "teaches them more."

"Right but you could have at least got them to realise it earlier if you're that clever," she scowled, but he didn't look impressed.

"You know what, Miss Oswald; you could really do with taking a chill pill. This isn't school, this isn't a competition between us, and we're not going to be inspected by Ofsted tomorrow, so for goodness sake go and get something to eat because we have the rest of the evening where we're meant to be getting to know each other better, and I'd really rather it not be a slagging match," he immediately walked off when he finished speaking and Clara went in the opposite direction, deciding she really wasn't hungry.

"Clara come on now, I'm sure he's not that bad you've only known him a few hours and you know nothing about him," Adrian told her. She was always grateful for his listening ear; he knew her better than anyone and definitely knew how to handle her in this mood.

"Oh believe me I know enough. He's just so arrogant! Undermining me like that was just…" she kicked out at the wall.

"Woah Clara stop destroying the place for goodness sake and just think, I know maybe he should have spotted you were lost before, but you didn't realise either did you? Not really. You say you've got to talk tonight? Maybe you should give him a chance, get to know him. It's not going to do your group any good if you spend the week arguing with each other." Ridiculously calm, Clara knew she was right to call him.

"You're probably right," she sighed,

"Aren't I always?" Adrian replied quickly, making her chuckle. "That's better love, now I'm afraid I need to go and cook dinner before Niamh gets grumpy. I'll have her in bed by 8 though so please feel free to call me later if you need to. Enjoy the rest of your evening," he told her and she said her goodbyes, hanging up. After a few deep breaths Clara stood up, making her way to the dining hall to grab a quick something before dinner ended.

The teenagers were essentially left to their devices in the games room with only the main leaders for company. The other leaders were told to find somewhere in their pairs to chat. Danny had come over to her as dinner ended, suggesting they take a walk up the hill to which she agreed, hoping the open air would calm her a little in his presence. The walk up was essentially in silence until they made it to the top where they found a bench and sat down.  
"It's nice up here," she spoke, looking out at the view, "I used to walk a lot, spend time looking out at beautiful countryside."

"What changed?" Danny asked.

"A lot of things, work got busy, circumstances changed, just real life. It's not all dreams and fairy tales you know?" she couldn't resist the sarcastic tone.

"Believe me, I know," he replied quite quietly.

"Mmm I'm sure," she shrugged and looked out.

"What exactly is that meant to mean?" he asked, suddenly getting defensive.

"Well you obviously think you know all, you've probably had a perfect childhood and everything go right for you. Perfect grades perfect teacher nothing to worry about. Well good for you Danny Pink, I'm sure it was fabulous," she stood up as she finished, walking forward.

"You have no idea what my life has been like! How dare you make judgements like that, what gives you the right? This is supposed to be us learning about each other, not making judgements based on knowing each other for a few hours! One thing I can see with you is that you're not going to be easy to deal with this week. Clearly we're not going to leave here as best friends, but we are going to have to work together but we cannot possibly do that if you're going to be like this all week! Whatever the hell it is you're angry about please don't take it out on me, it can't be that bad that you're so desperate to fight!" Danny found himself getting incredibly angry, something he hated.

"Like I'd ever tell you that," she spoke almost venomously, "I'm not telling you anything, you don't need to know anything. All you need to know is that we're going to get through this week speaking as little as needed. Professional, that's it."

"For the last time, this is not a school Clara, this is a camp. This is _meant_ to be friendly, get out of teacher mode for goodness sake!" He shouted at her, standing up now. Clara spun around and looked at him.

"Stop telling me what to do, like you're anymore of an expert. Just leave me alone, like I said, professional." Clara turned back away and started walking back down the hill, but he followed, "do you not understand the words leave me alone?" Danny didn't respond, just followed her back to their building. Thankfully there didn't seem to be anyone around as she walked in, he quickly following. Clara was just about to open her door when he spoke.

"Clara," Danny reached out, grabbing her arm. She quickly pulled back.

"Do you not understand leave me alone?!" Clara pushed him away and walked in to her room, slamming the door. Danny looked astonished as the door shut in his face, she had reacted very strangely. There was definitely something else going on there, he just couldn't work out what.

Clara leant back against the door as she shut it, sliding down and placing her head in her hands. Her phone buzzed in her pocket again and she pulled it out, Adrian was asking how it was going. She almost laughed at the question, but dialled his number instead, explaining what had happened.

"Wow Clara, you really know how to make an impression don't you?" He had listened to everything before speaking, but his response had been fairly accurate. "You need to do something about this sooner rather than later."

"Like what? He won't listen to me, we can't have a conversation without arguing, the only way we're going to get through this week is by dealing with each other as little as physically possible. Ade what the hell have I let myself in for this week?" she sighed, rubbing her forehead a little. "I'm sorry, you're just listening to my problems. Have you had a good day with Niamh?" she asked, standing up and going to sit on her bed.

"Clara don't change the subject, but yes it's been good, not sure how I'm going to cope looking after her all week – remind me not to have children please, it's good to be able to give them back," he laughed, "but back to your situation. Let it cool off tonight, talk to him tomorrow. You need to, it can't go on like this. Clara you're such a lovely person, I know that, everyone at work knows that, but you need to start transferring that outside of work. I know you've been through so much, more than anyone deserves to go through and I hate that I can't help more but fighting everyone who starts asking about your past just isn't going to help," Clara sighed as he finished, he was always right. She suddenly noticed her cheeks were damp and she sniffled a little. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I think I'm just tired. I'm sorry for all this, I don't mean to lay it all on you I just don't know who else to talk to," she leaned over and grabbed a tissue, wiping at her eyes.

"Hey, that's what best friends are here for right? I'm here for you whenever you need me. Right now I reckon you should clean up and then head down and join in with the teens, you'll be in your element there," Adrian used his good old reassuring tone.

"You're probably right, thanks. I'll let you enjoy your evening now, speak soon," she told him, "night Ade," Clara said before hanging up. Quickly checking her face in the mirror she made her way down, spending the rest of the evening getting involved in various video games and board games – a decent distraction for now.


	3. Chapter 3

Clara groaned a little as her alarm went off. They had to be up at 6 to make sure they were ready to wake the teens up at 7 and despite the fact she got up at half 5 every morning every day for work she was absolutely not ready for the day ahead. They were going rafting this morning, something Clara was actually looking forward to, but the lack of sleep and slight headache from all the tension of the previous day. She picked up her phone off the side, unplugging it and dropping a text to Adrian.

 _You awake? X  
_ Sadly yes, early start?  
 _Need to shower and then wake the rabble up before breakfast. Early starts all week…  
_ Well I got jumped on by an 8 year old at half 5, I understand your problem. How you feeling this morning?  
 _Shattered, and dreading stepping out of this ? x  
_ Definitely shattered, but I'll live. Just get up, be positive, go show him you can handle this like the calm and collected teacher you normally are. Have a wonderful day, don't get too damp. X

Clara rolled her eyes at his last comment and forced herself out of bed. She showered and quickly dried her hair off, throwing on her clothes and made it out of the room with a minute to spare. Danny was waiting, leaning against the room opposite.

"What's that look for?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing," Danny responded after a rather too significant pause, "I was just debating with myself whether you'd make it out on time. Come on, we need to get over to the cabin," he told her, walking off. She threw her hair up as they walked over.

"Getting up and respectably dressed in next to no time is my speciality I'll have you know," she jogged down the stairs before they left their building.

"Really? I thought that was map reading?" Clara rolled her eyes but didn't respond, remembering Adrian's words.

"Ready for a morning trying not to be pulled in to the water by a group of teenagers?" She asked, heading across to the cabin.

"You sound like you've done this before," he pointed out.

"Year 7s go to PGL every year, was my turn last year and it was somewhat dramatic. I managed to stay dry, not everyone can say the same." They reached the cabin just as she finished. "Ready?" He nodded. Clara knocked on the door, waited a few seconds and then went in.

"Right you lot, time to get up," Danny announced as they walked in. Clara went in further to the girls section and gently hit both the bunk beds to wake them up. They both looked around as all 8 teenagers eventually sat up, rubbing eyes.

"Is it really time already?" Toby moaned to which Danny and Clara shared a little grin.

"Certainly is. You've all got an hour to get up and dressed. We'll see you in the dining room – if you're not there, you'll miss breakfast. See you later," Clara just about managed to dodgy a pillow thrown at her by Courtney. "Nice try, up you get," she chucked it back at her bed and left.

"Surprised you didn't give her what for," Danny commented as she shut the door behind them.

"That's not the best way to deal with Courtney, she just rebels," Clara informed him.

"Maybe I should try that," he grinned. She rolled her eyes, walking off to the staff meeting.

Clara purposefully sat away from him in the meeting and started chatting to some of the other leaders instead before it began. Once Frankie jogged in they all took their seats and listened in. She instructed them on where each group was going and what activities they were doing although they were all pretty much aware. Clara was listening, but her gaze was drawn to the window as she retreated a little in to her own thoughts. It was only when Danny walked over to her and tapped her shoulder that she moved.

"What was that for?" She complained, standing up.

"Well talking wasn't working; you were in a world of your own. Nice daydream?" He asked, starting to move away towards the door. Clara stood up, suddenly and for no apparent reason realising he'd changed in to shorts – she had no idea when that had happened. They suited him… not that she cared. "Clara?"

"Not really," she replied vaguely, "but I am hungry so I don't know about you but I'm going to eat," she told him and wandered off to the dining room.

As soon as breakfast was over they got together and headed out to the lake. Clara walked at the front leaving Danny to man the back of the group, their plan to keep apart as much as possible going well.

"So we need teams for this?" Karlie asked, jogging up to Clara. "Can we pick our own?"

"Goodness no I'm not that stupid; we'll sort you out in a minute. Teams of 4, you'll have one of us. The instructors will be looking on but otherwise we're on our own. Our aim is to build a raft to go across the lake, not as easy as it sounds I can assure you. You'll need to work together as a team, that is incredibly important today. Right, here we are… "she stopped and turned around, looking to Danny to sort out the teams.

"Karlie, Toby, Pierce and Amy with Clara, the rest of you with me – we'll go to the other side of the lake. See you all in a bit when we beat you," Danny smirked and walked off with his team.

"No chance!" They all shouted back at him and immediately ran off to their equipment. Clara let them plan without much input, watching them work it all out. She was quite surprised at how well they worked together to create what looked to be a quite sturdy raft.

"Clara they've already started building?" Karlie pointed out as she looked around, immediately shocking the others in to looking right. "Shouldn't we get going as well otherwise they'll just beat us!" Toby jumped up.

"Eh! No, finish working that out, you are doing well. Yes they've started building fast but they haven't planned like you have – that can only lead to disaster. Toby get back here quick your drawing skills are required," she smiled as they all returned and carried on watching them.

Across the lake, Danny was getting very involved with the building, and his team were grabbing materials from all over to put together. He glanced up to see Clara crouching down by her group who were still sat on the floor staring at a bit of paper. She was set back a little, just watching on, letting them do the work. He had to smile at just how different they seemed to work, it explained so much, but this was probably the first time he'd seen Clara without her angry face on – this must be what she looked like normally. It was much nicer, much much nicer…

"Danny! Are you gonna tie that rope or not?" Courtney shouted at him which bought him back to reality. "What were you looking at?" she asked and followed where his gaze had been. "Oooo do you looove her?"

"2 minutes ago we hated each other, now we're in love? I thought Clara told me you were good at observation. Let's get on with building a raft eh?" he responded, dismissing her comments and tying the rope around the wood for stability. "How we getting on then?" Danny stood up and looked at the whole thing.

"Getting there, we need to position the barrels now," Ben told him. "Can you help?" He asked and Danny nodded, walking over with him.

Back on Clara's side they had started building, and thanks to the plan it was coming on fast. She'd not had to do much at all, despite asking plenty of times. Karlie and Toby were working together on the frame with the other two helping out with the other aspects of the raft.

Both teams finished off their rafts at almost similar times once Danny's team had rebuilt theirs after it all but collapsed. Clara had laughed along with the rest of her group before half sarcastically reminding them to carry on with their own work and not find happiness in their opponents' misfortune. The four of them nodded, still smiling and continued putting the final touches in place.

Now it was time to get in the water and so both groups carefully pushed their rafts down to the lake. They both sat floating and one member of each team held them in place.  
"Right then one at a time to get on and make sure we balance out well otherwise it'll topple before we've even started, and we don't want that," Danny told their team as they all started to climb on to the frame. While they were organising themselves he looked up to see Clara climb on their team's raft and the 4 teens cheered, starting to paddle across the lake. After about 30 seconds, Courtney threw something at him and he realised everyone else was on. Carefully, he made his way on to the raft and they soon started moving.

The group made it almost half way across the lake when they were met by the others. Danny rolled his eyes as each team started calling to each other.  
"Yours looks well wobby!" Karlie shouted to Courtney.  
"Yeah, well you took forever to build yours!" She replied.  
"At least it didn't fall apart," Toby responded.  
"We just changed our minds!" Ben called to his twin and went to stand up without thinking to which Danny automatically responded.

"Ben! Down!" he reached forward but immediately lost his own balance and despite his best efforts, failed to stay out of the lake. He reached out as he fell, going to grab on to the other raft but accidentally grabbing Clara's arm who, as a result, was pulled in after him.

The teens laughed and cheered, but Danny was quick to notice Clara choking on the water she'd clearly managed to inhale on falling. He grabbed her quick, getting her head above water and allowing her to cough for a moment. Her breathing was struggling and Danny knew she needed to get to shore.  
"Alright you lot, keep paddling back away from me and get yourselves to shore." As soon as he finished talking he started swimming back to sure on his back, holding Clara up. The instructors had appeared with the life ring but he dismissed it, swimming back with her and pulling her up where she quickly moved to her knees and coughed up the water, immediately her breathing returning to normal. She stood up, giving the instructors a reassuring look before walking round to the teens, wringing out her hair.

"Are you okay Clara?" Amy asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah I'm all good, thanks love. Right you lot, good job this morning, I'm sure you're enjoying the drenching of your leaders but it's time to head back to your cabin now. You can change if you wish, and then you need to head to the dining hall for lunch at half 1. We'll see you in there," she informed them all and immediately turned around to lead them back. Once they could split she went back to the leader's building to which Danny quickly followed. Once they were out of earshot he caught up with her.

"Clara I'm sorry it wasn't intentional, I just reached out," he told her but she blanked him completely. "Clara!" he called as she sped up and he had to jog up the stairs to keep up with her. She quickly pulled out her keys but Danny grabbed her arm. "I just want to make sure you're okay!" He was quickly shrugged off as she unlocked and opened the door, heading in, but Danny stuck his foot in the way of the door closing Clara sighed and turned to him.

"I'm drenched, a little sort and fed up of your voice so please just go and change for goodness sake and stop harassing me!" She waited for him to remove his foot but he didn't. It was only now she noticed his white tshirt was somewhat see-through now thanks to the lake dip. He was surprisingly well built for a maths teacher, not that she really cared right now, he was just in the way.

"You were choking earlier, I just want to make sure you're not going to collapse the moment I shut the door. Evidently your breathing is no longer compromised so I'll leave you be. Just calm down, it was an accident. I'm sorry." He finally moved and Clara slammed the door. The moment she'd locked it she stripped off her wet clothes and grabbed her PJs to temporarily dress while she hung her clothes over the radiator. Thankfully she'd left her phone in the room and therefore saved it from a rather damp ending. She picked it up and dialled Adrian again, slightly beginning to wonder if he was fed up with her yet.

"Hey! You survived then?" he asked enthusiastically. Based on the background noise she guessed he was at the park with Niamh.

"Just about, Danny pulled me in to the bloody lake," she moaned, digging around for replacement clothes. "He fell in and damn well pulled me in with him! I'm soaked."

"Well you might want to change then?" Adrian suggested jokily, but Clara didn't really take it.

"Yeah shockingly I already thought of that thanks," Clara sighed, "sorry I'm just angry," she explained, throwing her replacement jeans and top on the bed before following them to sit down.

"No kidding. I just need to work something out… did he do this on purpose?" he asked.

"Not exactly, he lost balance on the raft and fell. I think he was trying to grab our frame but managed my arm instead," she explained, leaning against the head of the bed.

"Alright, new question, If it had been one of the campers would you be angry?" Clara didn't respond immediately. Adrian kept quiet too, just waiting for her argument to come back. Sure enough, after a rather long minute it came.

"No, but it's my job to care for them, he should be able to look after himself! I nearly drowned falling in there!" Clara coincidentally coughed as she told him this.

"But you're okay? Did the instructors have to help you out?" Adrian sounded concerned.

"Well no, Danny helped me out but-"

"Wait so he basically saved your life?" Adrian interrupted, incredibly confused now.

"Well yes, but-" Clara realised where he was going with this and was soon interrupted again.

"Did he apologise?" he asked, Clara reluctantly told him he had, "so why aren't you thanking him? I'm sorry love but I think I'm on his side here." He was right, of course he was, Danny had simply accidentally pulled her in and then continued by stopping her from actually drowning in the lake. She'd reacted harshly because it was him, and she'd only known the bloke for a couple of days. This was stupid, why did she hate this man so much? "Clara are you alright? I don't understand this you normally at least tolerate people. I've never known you to get this emotional about someone since… well… you know." He was speaking more truth than she could handle. "I have to go," she said quickly and hung up, vaguely hearing her name as she did.

Danny mirrored her as he sat on his own bed, head in his hands. He couldn't stop thinking about in his hands. He couldn't stop thinking about how angry she was, and how upset this made him. Clara Oswald was on his mind and she wouldn't leave. He couldn't forget how scared she looked for the split second she couldn't breathe in the water. He couldn't forget how angry she looked when they got back to the building. Why did he care so much? Why couldn't he let it go? She was just some woman he had to work with for a week and she was driving him insane.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thank you for the lovely reviews - they really help keep me motivated!**_

That night they were on night duty and that meant being stuck in a little room by the cabins. The afternoon had been a whole group event and therefore they were able to keep apart much to both their pleasures, but right now they were sat in silence. Clara reading, and Danny doing Sudoku. She'd scoffed a little as he'd produced the book – such a stereotypical maths teacher. He had been quick to point out that she was an English teacher reading Jane Austen to which she shrugged and responded, "she's a good author," she smirked a little before continuing to read. Since that one brief conversation they hadn't spoken and time ticked by slowly. Clara reached the end of another chapter and shut the book, standing up.  
"Did you want a drink?" she asked, flicking the kettle on. Danny looked up, a little astonished.

"Should I be worried that you'll throw it at me?" he asked and she mock laughed.

"Nah, too tired for that," she replied, "coffee?" he nodded and she quickly made it up, handing it to him. "Call it a thank you," she spoke quietly, almost reluctantly, but truthfully. "And an apology, you saved me from something potentially terrible out there and I reacted terribly. I think we should maybe try and start again? Maybe I can prove I'm not always such a horrible person to be around," she smiled a little and sat down.

"Apology accepted," he sipped his coffee, "you actually have a lovely smile, you should definitely use it more." Clara smiled again for his benefit. "Alright then, fresh start, tell me more about your school," and she did. They continued talking about teaching and their jobs for another couple of hours before they spotted the time.

"Ah, bedtime… about half an hour ago," Clara pointed out, "we should sleep, not sure I fancy being half asleep on a zip wire if I'm honest." Danny chuckled, standing up. They walked back, having a quick check around as they went and soon back at their rooms. "Goodnight ," she said as they opened their respective doors.

"Goodnight, sleep well," he smiled and went in. Danny shut the door but paused for a moment, staring at where his hand was on the handle. Eventually he moved and lay down on the bed, not bothering to change. He'd seen a new side to Clara tonight, but he was still convinced there was something she was hiding. What he'd seen tonight, that felt like the true Clara, the one who had been hiding from him, so the question still remained: why so angry?

* * *

The next morning seemed much more positive. They met up with everyone after breakfast and were led out to the zip wire by 2 of the camp instructors.  
"Well that's pretty long," Toby commented as they approached it.

"Duh, that's the whole point dumbo," Ben replied, rolling his eyes.

"Alright boys, yes it is pretty long, it's also very high and I really don't fancy and paperwork tonight so let's all listen carefully to what you're told to do and keep safe," Danny told them, looking to the instructors.

"It's these two you need to watch," Courtney pointed to Danny and Clara, "they fell in the lake yesterday,"

"Some of us fell, some of us were pulled in," Clara responded, glancing at Danny who shrugged in agreement. "Anyway, on with the activity…"

They were taken through all the basic safety before they even got near the zip wire. Most of the teens were looking more than excited to get on and have a go, but Clara quickly spotted Alice's face was rather different to the rest. As they moved off to walk to the platform, she carefully manoeuvred so she could talk to her separately.  
"Everything alright?" Clara asked, looking reassuringly at her.

"I'm… I'm fine, totally fine." Alice replied and went to walk with the others but Clara put an arm out to stop her in her tracks.

"I'm the expert in telling people I'm fine, and therefore I'm also very good at telling when others are not. Talk to me Alice, what's wrong?" Danny had looked round now to check everything was okay, she nodded for him to continue walking with the others and as Alice started to be compliant they too began walking again.

"I'm not great with heights, this is basically my worst fear right in front of me," she explained, not that Clara was surprised at the answer.

"Nobody is forcing you to do anything, but I promise you it will be pretty fun," she told her, "I'll do it if you will?" Slowly Alice nodded and they began to catch up with the group.

They could only go down one at a time, so they each lined up. Alice stayed at the back and Clara made sure to keep near to her. As each one of them went the others were sure to cheer and woop as they went down, occasionally shouting random comments, especially once they'd landed despite the long distance. As Karlie got strapped up and Alice realised she was next, her mood drastically changed.

"I can't do this Clara, I feel really sick," she turned away from the edge and sat down on one of the benches. Now there was none of her peers to see she was much more open. Clara quickly joined her, leaving Danny to watch Karlie go down.

"You can, I know you can, it's just fear of the unknown love, nothing more. You've seen everyone else go down safe right?" Alice nodded, but seemed less than convinced. Clara took a gently breath before trying something else. "When I was about your age, I used to be terrified of public speaking," she heard Danny almost burst in to laughter and shot him a look to shut up.

"But you're well confident, Courtney keeps saying how you're like the most popular teacher in the school and you don't get that from being nervous," she smiled a little, blushing when she noticed Danny still looking and quickly turned her attention back to Alice.

"No, but I used to be terrible, and one day we were told we had to do a presentation to our whole class about our coursework and I was absolutely terrified. I went home and told my Mum there was absolutely no way I was going to school to do this presentation, I simply refused and that was that," Clara told her.

"So what happened? Did you lose marks?" Alice asked, finally looking up at her.

"Nah, my Mum saw right through me. She knew the truth was that I was scared and she sat me down that night and we worked through the presentation together bit by bit. She got me to do it in front of her, just her, and it went really well. Once I'd done that she told me something that has got me through many a scary situation," Clara took a deep breath, "whatever you're scared of, it's not as strong as the love that I have for you, and wherever you are, whatever you're doing, my love will always be stronger than any fear."

"So you've never been scared since then?" Alice asked, biting her lip a little as she thought this through.

"Loads of times, believe me I've been in some pretty scary situations, but I just remember what she said and you know what?" she shook her head, "nothing is ever as bad as you imagine it. So," Clara stood up and held out a hand, "you going to give this a go?" she asked. The few seconds that Alice paused for seemed like a lifetime, but eventually she took Clara's hand and stood up, walking over to the waiting instructor.

"Let's do this," she said and Clara smiled. "You're coming after right?"

"I'll be right behind you, but not before you've landed so you can still laugh at me going down," Alice laughed a little at this, taking a deep breath. "Go on girl, face your fear," she told her and the teenager looked around at the vast valley below before leaning back and taking off.

Clara and Danny watched on as she made her way quickly down to the bottom.  
"That was really good," he told her, "your Mum must be proud of you," Danny told her, but Clara just shrugged.

"I'm just doing my job," she told him.

"Hardly, you're not paid for this one," he reminded her, watching as Alice landed at the other end, looking round and cheering to which Clara gave her a thumbs up. "Your turn then?" Danny smiled and she quickly moved to get on.

"See you on the other side," she told him before leaning back and taking off. As she flew through the air she could hear her mother's voice ringing in her ears. It was almost painful, but not in a horrible way. She'd needed her Mum more than ever recently, but all she had was her voice, and she'd been ignoring that too. Maybe it was time she listened to her own advice.

The adrenaline rush was great, and it left the teens hyper as anything as they made their way back to camp. Both Clara and Danny were having to keep a close eye on them, especially as Courtney seemed to be in mischievous mood today. Thankfully Clara thwarted her attempts to push Danny towards the lake as they walked by and gave her a little talk about calming down which seemed to fall on deaf ears. The moment they were back in the camp area all 8 of them ran off, leaving Clara and Danny leaning against a wall and watching them on the basketball court.

"Alice looks better now," Danny commented, Clara nodded and watched her getting well involved with the game.

"Yeah she's good, really proud of her facing her fear like that – it's not easy," she replied truthfully.

"You really spoke from the heart earlier, that's not something you see often in a teacher and it's a wonderful quality," Clara let a small smile creep out but didn't look at him. "You really should smile more often, it suits you."

"Sometimes I get tired of hearing that," she sighed, pushing up from the wall. "They're fine, I'm going to head back and grab a shower if that's alright?" Danny nodded, letting her go but fully intending to talk to her later and work out what was going on.

He kept his own promise, and once dinner was over that evening Danny tracked down Clara sat in the relax room staring in the direction of the table tennis but he could see she wasn't actually watching. He walked over and sat in the chair beside her.

"Fancy a walk?" Danny asked. He could just tell she needed to get away and she really needed to talk, even if Clara didn't realise that yet.

"Please, I could do with getting out of here," he nodded and they stood up, walking out.

"If we head up to the hill will I survive?" Danny asked and she rolled her eyes, smiling, "There we go, it worked. Come on then," he grinned and started to walk up with her.

They didn't speak for a little while, just walking silently up before sitting down at the top, looking out over the view that seemed to go on forever. Danny glanced over and saw Clara's face looking much calmer already.

"When I was younger I was terrified of the dark," he finally broke their silence to Clara's surprise, "I used to lie in bed at night after lights out and shut my eyes and imagine my Mum was sat on the bed beside me singing me to sleep, it's the only memory I had but it helped me fall asleep every night," Danny opened up to her, looking back out over the view, but he could tell Clara was looking at him now.

"You lost your Mum?" Clara asked, leaning her head on her tucked up knees and looking at him.

"I guess, I was only 2 so I don't really remember life before the home. Life was what it was, I didn't do so bad out of it," Danny gave her a reassuring smile and leant back, laying on the grass and looking up at the sky with his hands tucked up under his head. Clara watched him move before following him down.

"Mine died when I was 16," she spoke up at the sky, "we were really close, it was difficult, but my Dad and I pulled through together." Danny turned his head to face her.

"We're more similar than we thought huh?" he commented and she turned her head too.

"I'm really sorry for how I've been this week, I've just not been myself recently," Clara apologised.

"Hey it's fine, you've clearly got a lot on your mind," Danny commented and she half nodded before looking back at the sky, he didn't know the half of it. "Anyway, tell me more about yourself, what do you do outside of teaching?" Clara didn't answer immediately, just looking at the sunset and trying to work out how to respond.

"Not a lot really," she eventually came out with, it wasn't exactly a lie, "work is basically my life if I'm honest. Sorry to disappoint."

"I'm not much different don't worry," he replied, "this is the longest I've been away from home and work in a good while." Clara let out a little laugh, "what's that for?"

"Well I just never imagined you to be the unsociable type that's all; I guess we really are similar." Clara sat up and then stood up, holding out a hand to him. "We should get back, nearly time to force the rabble to bed." Danny took it and stood up, "thanks for tonight, I really needed that chat."

They both went back, helping with bedtime before retiring to their own rooms. Clara finally checked her phone to see there were 4 missed called from Adrian and quickly called him back to see what was going on. He answered after the third ring.

"Hey, what's the emergency?" Clara asked.

"I just wanted to make sure you hadn't fallen off the cliff, or indeed been pushed, I was surprised you hadn't phoned to complain again," he told her. Clara giggled a little, "well someone's in a better mood?" Adrian commented.

"Yeah, we've made a fresh start now, it's good, really good," she told him everything that had happened that day from helping Alice too talking with Danny on the hill.

"Sounds like you've really turned things around then, he sounds pretty nice after all," Adrian commented with a little tone in his voice that Clara was quick to pick up on.

"What's that meant to mean?" she asked, "we just get on, that's all."

"You should try listening to the way you just talked about him and then tell me that. Clara Oswald the only person you ever hated so much from the moment you met them before-" he didn't even get to finish the sentence before she hung up, throwing her phone down. He was still right, but she couldn't bear to hear what she knew was coming at the end of that sentence. She tucked her legs up, leaning her head down in to her knees and letting a few tears fall. Danny was, as it turned out, a lovely guy, but she just couldn't allow herself to be drawn in any further. They were friends, nothing more.


	5. Chapter 5

Theme parks were far from Clara's favourite place and so she was grateful to return back to camp after they spent the following day at the local one with her generally holding bags while Danny accompanied the group on various rides and rollercoasters. She had to admit it was quite entertaining to watch them all screaming, and Danny chasing her after he'd come off the log flume had made her laugh. He'd been wonderful with all of them, encouraging Alice to go on, keeping them entertained in the long queues and the walks between rides. Clara found herself permanently walking a few steps behind to observe their interaction. He even managed to get a thing going with Courtney which seemed to control her a little more than usual.

They were now sat on the beach having a BBQ for dinner and occasional games on the sand. Clara was lying back, only leaning up on her arms to watch as Courtney, Karlie and Alice were playing volleyball against 3 girls she didn't recognise as well and seemed to be having a blast. Toby and Ben were splashing each other at the water's edge and Danny seemed to have got caught up in that. It took her a moment or two before she realised Frankie had appeared beside her and sat down. She'd been watching Clara's gaze from a while away.

"You guys made up then?" Frankie asked.

"I guess we did, much easier than arguing 24/7," Clara told her, still not actually looking away from him trying to dodge splashes of water – many more children had now joined in trying to attack one of their camp leaders – he appeared somewhat ganged up on.

"I've known Danny a long time, normally if he doesn't get on with someone he doesn't really care, but that first night he spent a good hour ranting to me about how frustrating you were," Frankie told her. Clara finally looked around looking confused.

"I'm not quite sure if that's a compliment or not if I'm honest?" Clara chuckled awkwardly.

"He likes you too Clara," she got straight to the point, "he's a good bloke, I'd go for it if I were you," Clara kept in a stunned silence for a few moments before they were thankfully interrupted as Danny appeared having managed to escape from the barrage of teenagers although he appeared slightly damp. "You're soaked!" Frankie told him bluntly.

"Thanks for that," Danny replied, removing his to, a sight to which Clara couldn't help but be drawn to. When she realised what she was doing, she quickly looked back down and noticed Frankie smirking at her. "I was slightly outnumbered out there you two could have given me a hand?"

"I'm wearing a white dress Danny, not really practical for being soaked by the teenagers you're looking after," Clara ignored Frankie and looked back up to Danny who was giving her a look as if to suggest he didn't see the issue with that, she quickly grabbed a nearby beach ball and threw it at him. "Eyes front soldier," she told him, "I'm gonna go grab a drink, you want one?" She jumped up and quickly caught the ball that came back in her direction.

"Quick reflexes," he commented to which Clara smirked, "a drink would be lovely, surprise me." Clara threw the ball back at him for the last time before walking off to the drinks table. Danny sat down on the sand and looked at Frankie who was smiling at him. "What?" He asked, not gaining more than a grin in response, "what?!"

"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't like her," she asked of him, to which he fell silent, "I knew it. I knew it! Danny Pink you really do don't you?" Frankie teased him.

"I… look, she's lovely, I mean now she's not shouting at me every 2 minutes, but I really don't think anything's going to happen. She's hiding something, I've no idea what, but I can't push her for information we've only known each other a few days," Danny spoke truthfully, but Frankie wasn't giving up.

"Where's all your confidence gone all of a sudden? Honestly Danny, you're unbelievable sometimes." Frankie stood up, "I have places to be and teenagers to round up for bed. Talk to her, get to know each other like you were _supposed to do_ at the beginning of the week. I'll see you in the morning," she finished and jogged off to speak to some of the other leaders for help getting the group back together. Just after she left Clara reappeared and handed Danny a can before joining him back on the sand.

"It's lovely out here, and they've all had a great time this evening. It's been a really nice day," Clara opened her drink, looking out as they all began to file back towards camp. "Shouldn't we be helping?"

Danny shook his head as he took a sip from his can, "Frankie told me to stay put," he explained before answering her previous statement, "you spent most of today holding bags, I'm sure you've had better days."

"Okay so maybe I'm not a big theme park fan, but I did enjoy watching you lot scream your heads off. You were brilliant with them all today, and this evening," she smiled.

"Just doing my job," he repeated her statement from the previous day and she rolled her eyes.

"Alright point made, but really you must be a brilliant teacher to have, you really have that knack of interacting with them and keeping them engaged, even with Courtney – you need to give me tips," she told him, lying back again on the sand.

"To be honest I think she actually quite likes you as a teacher, she just refuses to admit it," he told her, looking out as the beach had suddenly emptied leaving just the two of them behind. "Should we head back?" Danny asked, going to stand up, but Clara stuck an arm out to stop him.

"Let's stay, watch the sunset, it's beautiful out here I don't want to leave just yet," she told him. Danny nodded and lay back again. A few people reappeared to clear up the games bits and pieces and the food, but nobody seemed to pay much attention to them as they looked out over the vast sea. Eventually, when the beach fell silent again, Clara stood up, slipping off her sandals and picking them up and walking towards the edge of the sea. She walked along the edge, her feet just paddling as the small waves lapped over them. Danny stood up, picking up her drink and walking to join her, handing her the can. "Thank you," Clara replied, "so how did you really end up on camp then?" she asked, gently strolling along.

"I was in the army before I was a teacher," he admitted, Clara glanced in his direction briefly almost shocked at the revelation, "I know, sometimes it surprises me too." Danny sipped at his drink, "I've been teaching for about 6 months now, I was more than ready to get away to a nice hot beach and then Frankie managed to rope me in to this instead, aren't I lucky eh?" He laughed, "to be fair, I was very reluctant to start with but I guess it's actually been good."

"Well I'm glad she persuaded you, and you've got 5 weeks to get away somewhere else, but this is a pretty good warm beach if I can just point that out," she grinned and bumped in to him gently.

"So what about you?" he asked, "Why'd you come? You're young free and single, why aren't you out exploring the world?"

"I've done my fair share of world exploring before I started teaching, I had to settle down finally and I did, but things haven't been great recently, I wasn't much looking forward to the holidays, needed to keep busy – this seemed like a good start. Not sure what I'll do for the rest of it yet but we'll work on that." Danny looked over at her as she finished talking and noted the change in her face. "I think I just love teaching too much," she laughed a little, but it wasn't overly convincing.

"It is a very rewarding thing, even if you do have _those children_ ," he replied and Clara nodded in agreement, "Toby and Ben love to do that thing where they switch classes, it's almost impossible to tell."

"Oh gosh that sounds like a nightmare! I have to say most of mine are lovely," she commented and Danny gave her a knowing look, "yes Courtney can be a bit of a nightmare, she just misuses her talents. That girl has the observation skills of an eagle but it seems she generally only uses them to work out things about me rather than Shakespeare," Clara sighed a little, "I'm determined she is going to come out of school with good grades if it's the last thing I do."

"She's lucky to have a teacher so dedicated, so many would have given up after the third insult," Danny told her as they stopped and turned to look out over the vast sea in front of them.

"All that gives Courtney is the sense of achievement, and I refuse to give her that. I've got less than a year to get her exam ready, it's gonna be a great one," she told him.

Danny smiled and put a reassuring arm around her shoulders, "you'll be great, I can see you've got a wonderful skill," he told her and as he did she leant in to him a little. He stiffened, not knowing quite how to take this, and just stayed standing there – not daring to move.

"I'm so glad we could make up, it's nice to have a friend around, I'm sure Adrian will appreciate that I won't keep ringing him every hour to rant," she laughed.

"Adrian?" Danny asked, a little confused – he was sure she'd said there was no partner in the picture.

"Oh we work together, I guess he's my best friend, he certainly does that job pretty well anyway. Poor guy has put up with a lot recently, he deserves a break," Clara told him. Danny couldn't quite work out why he suddenly felt relieved. "Not that I'm about to offload all my feelings to you, I mean I've only known you a few days it would be kinda weird," she told him.

Danny shrugged, "I'm a good listener, feel free to talk about whatever you wish," he told her. Clara smiled, gently pushing herself back upright. "Alright?"

Clara looked out at the reddened sky and ran a hand through her hair," yeah, just getting tired. Can we go sit by the fire?" she asked and he quickly agreed, following her over. "I could sit here forever; it's so beautiful and calm."

Danny smiled as she lay back, watching the sunset, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. Clara Oswald was the woman who had essentially gone from worst enemy to best friend in about 24 hours and he was so glad they'd made up. She was feisty, certainly not the sort of person you want to mess with, but at the same time she clearly had a softer side and there was something inside her that made her vulnerable. He wanted to know, to be that listening ear or a shoulder to cry on, because clearly Clara was struggling with something.

They stayed in that position for a good hour, occasionally exchanging little conversations about work or camp, nothing too exciting. Eventually darkness fell and the fire began to die down, Clara suddenly noticed how chilly she felt and sat up, wrapping her arms around herself. Danny spotted her and slipped his jacket off and round her shoulders.  
"Oh no you'll be cold now don't be silly," she told him, going to shrug it off but he refused to let her, "well thanks, we should probably get back and head to bed, wide games in the morning, that should be entertaining." Clara stood up, pulling the jacket fully round her shoulders and looking for Danny to join her before they walked off.

Danny walked quietly, but his head was screaming at him to tell her how he felt. Frankie was right, this was his shot, it had been a beautiful night and they'd really got to know each other better.  
"Listen, Clara," he began and she stopped to look at him, waiting for more. Danny opened his mouth to speak again but couldn't get it out; going in to this unplanned was definitely not his best move.

"Danny are you going to talk or not because I need sleep badly," she told him, trying to make out his facial expression.

"I.. um…" Clara raised her eyebrows, "I'm just going to do something," he eventually told her, knowing it was now or never. Quickly he glanced around, but everyone else had long gone, and he leant in slowly, kissing her gently. Clara let him, for a couple of seconds, before something in her brain clicked and she pushed him away, shaking her head. Danny went to speak but before he could she'd run off in to the distance, leaving him to go back alone and shocked.

Clara kept running for a couple of minutes until she reached the lake where she finally stopped, looking back to make sure he hadn't followed and sitting at the water's edge, breathing heavily and not stopping the tears from falling. She put her head in her hands let herself cry for a minute, trying to work out what on earth she was feeling. Her head hurt and her heart pounded as she looked at the moonlight that was starting to shine on the lake, none of this made sense to her. It was too late to call Adrian now, she needed to try and figure this out even if it meant staying by the lake all night.

Danny made it back and immediately stopped when he reached Clara's door. He stood outside for a while, staring and trying to make a decision. He needed to apologise, none of this was meant to happen, he didn't come here to fall in love but that seemed to be happening. If she didn't want the same then fine, but he didn't want to return to where they had been previously. If he had to settle for being friends then so be it, Danny wasn't going to force her in to anything. Eventually he took the two steps forward and gently knocked on her door. There was no answer. He waited a minute before trying again, but still no response. After a moment of deliberation he decided she must be either asleep or ignoring it, knowing it would be him, and so he retreated to his room.

Clara pulled his jacket round her more, slipping her arms inside. As she wrapped it round her front she could smell him which just made her tear up again, but she shook it off. This feeling was overwhelming her, not that she knew what it was. Betrayal? Anger? Guilt? She had no idea but it was hurting her and this was far more like the pain she'd felt a few months back. Sleep was a no go right now and so she stayed there, biting her lip and watching the night roll over.


	6. Chapter 6

**The reviews are great, thank you all so much :) Here's the answers you've been looking for.**

Breakfast was the next time they saw each other and Danny couldn't help but notice how tired she looked even if everyone else seemed not to notice. She sat down with Toby, Ben, Alice and Karlie who had beckoned her over and she seemed happily engaged in a conversation with them. Danny had got to the dining room as soon as the staff meeting had finished to try and find her given she hadn't appeared. Frank questioned him and he was quick to cover for her and say he'd excused her as she'd woken up full of hayfever and needed an hour to sort herself out. Now he just needed to hope he could get to Clara before she did.

Clara had noticed him when she walked in and carefully dodged any looks as she gathered food and went to join the table that was calling her to join them. Sitting down between Alice and Ben she started talking to them about the previous day, each of them talking about their favourite rides at the theme park and all the events of the evening.

"How come you and Danny didn't come back with us?" Alice asked her fairly innocently.

"We stayed to help clear up," she quickly thought up the lie and hoped she'd delivered it innocently enough. "Frankie informed me she'd sort you lot out, which I can only presume she did?" They all nodded and smiled. "Good to hear. So, looking forward to today then?" She asked. She certainly was, they were being split up in to teams within their own teams which meant she wouldn't need to worry about Danny for most of the day. She'd finally got back to her room around 3am and probably got an hour's sleep at most, she didn't even change in to her PJs, just sort of fell on the bed and dropped off.

"Yeah I love the wide games! Capture the flag is the best it's so much fun," Toby replied, "hey can we all be a team?" He asked, getting an enthusiastic response from the other 3 at the table.

"I'll see what I can do," Clara told them, finishing up her breakfast. "I'll see you outside in 10 then?" They all nodded as she stood up and made her way outside. Danny spotted her leaving and quickly jumped up to follow, catching up just outside the hall. Clara quickly pulled out her phone as she noticed him and dialled Adrian, thankful when he answered quickly.

"Oh hello, I was beginning to wonder when I'd hear from you again, wasn't sure if you were angry with me after that last call," he spoke and Clara kept walking quickly, ignoring Danny who had appeared beside her.

"Clara?" he tried to get her attention but she ignored him.

"Hey is that him?" Adrian asked, but Clara just sighed, and finally made it to her room when she could shut the door on him. "Clara what's going on?"

"Sorry I just needed to get rid of my shadow," she sat down on the bed, suddenly feeling awful for how she'd treated him, but knowing it had to be this way or she'd give in to her weakness. "No, I'm not angry with you Ade but please, please don't mention that again."

"Hang on, a minute ago you were best friends I'm really confused right now, have you fallen out again?" he asked as Clara found herself staring at the door she's practically slammed in his face.

"He kissed me, last night, we were on the beach after the kids had gone to bed and we walked along the water edge and sat by the fire and talked and then on the way back it just… happened," she blurted out. Clara took a breath as she finished talking, she wasn't even going to tell him anything, this phone call had purely been a distraction to get rid of Danny.

"What did you do Clara?" Adrian asked in that voice that told her he basically knew the answer.

"I ran away, Ade I can't do it, I can't. It's too soon," she quickly wiped at her eyes, glancing at the clock and knowing she didn't have long.

"It's been 6 months Clara, you can't hide away forever," he told her, "and you can't ignore Danny for the rest of the week either, take this chance Clara."

"Yeah well I can ignore him for most of today so that'll have to do for now, I have to go," she told him and ignored his calls for her to listen to him before she hung up. Clara made her way to the mirror, quickly touching up the makeup that seemed to be covering her tiredness well enough before heading out.

The group met up outside the dining hall as agreed and made their way over to the woods they were playing the game in. Danny took them through the instructions and they split up, Clara taking Alice, Karlie, Toby and Ben as they'd talked about earlier and they eventually found a spot to put the flag. "This is an awesome den," Karlie said as she placed the flag in the tree, sitting on the branch. "So who's going where then?"

Alice looked around at everyone and then back to Karlie. "I reckon you and I should stay here, you can get up there really fast and my height plays advantage for defence. Toby and Ben work really well together so they'll be good to attack and I reckon Clara could be a great decoy too," they all looked over to their leader who shrugged.

"I'll do what I'm told, we ready?" she looked at her watch and waited the few seconds till it hit 10am and then told them to go. She was instructed to head right and whistle if she found anything which she agreed to and walked off. It didn't take long for her to realise walking through the forest alone when she was this tired probably wasn't the best plan and she suddenly realised how little energy she had. None the less the kept searching for clues, looking around as she walked for anything that might tell them where the others had hidden. As she looked to her left she suddenly felt herself bump in to something and automatically swore, thinking she'd walked in to a tree, but looked up to see Danny stood there.

"Oh gosh are you okay?" Danny quickly put his arm around her but she moved away. "Clara I'm sorry I…" she turned away from him, running a hand through her hair and looking back at the trees. There was an incredibly awkward silence to follow, neither of them quite knowing how to respond. Eventually Danny decided to try something. "So, where're your lot hiding then?" he asked, Clara smirked, looking around – she could do competitive whatever the mood.

"Nice try, like I'd tell you that," she replied. Danny raised his eyebrows at her, "not going to happen Danny, I'm not that stupid."

"Never said you were, but I have other tactics," he told her.

"Please, do tell," Clara folded her arms, waiting for a response. He didn't move for a moment and then suddenly, almost from nowhere, pounced on her and started to tickle.

"Danny!" she squealed, fighting him, "get off!"

"Nope, only if you tell," he grinned.

"That's not fair, I'm pretty sure torture is not allowed!" Clara finally managed to get away and ran behind a tree, watching him. He stood the other side, toying with her as they moved from side to side, "I feel personally attacked!"

"That is the point," he replied, eventually going for it, managing to grab her but losing balance so they both ended up on the floor, Clara falling on top of him. She quickly rolled off, lying on her back on the grass and breathing deeply. After a couple of minutes Danny stood up, holding out his hand to help her up. "We should get back to our teams." Clara didn't take his hand, sighing gently and continuing to look up at the sky. "Clara, I really am sorry," he told her.

"What for?" she asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Last night, I should never have…" he started, but that was a lie, "I didn't want to upset you, that was never my aim. I guess I should have talked more before I tried that, I don't want us to end up back where we started, please can we just forget that ever happened?" Danny asked, but Clara shook her head.

"No," she told him, standing up herself.

"What do you mean…?" he asked, confused.

"No, I won't forget it happened," Clara told him and he looked a little scared for it, "I should never have run away, it was nice," she told him, taking his hand which was still slightly stretched out even though she was up. Adrian's words were racing round her mind, telling her to take the chance, what was the worst that could happen? She leaned up and returned the kiss from the previous night, this time neither one arguing and holding it for a good 20 seconds. Eventually they broke away for air and Clara had to smile at how shocked he looked. Neither spoke again before they went in for more, but very quickly they both jumped back as they heard movement from behind them. Clara heard her team's whistle and looked up, "I should go…" she told him, their hands still slightly linked. "We'll talk later, I promise, I'll explain," she told him and quickly ran off to join her group.

The game continued, Clara's team eventually winning as Toby and Ben tracked down their base and managed to trick them in to getting the flag. More games happened over the morning, but both Clara and Danny were incredibly distracted and thankful for the afternoon when swimming arrived and they had very little to focus on. Clara sat on the side, watching them in the pool and grinning as Danny was showing off to her. Her phone had vibrated a couple of times in her pocket but she ignored it, focussing on watching the pool action.

Once dinner and the evening games were over, Clara and Danny retreated to the night room. Technically their job didn't start till lights out, but they were both getting impatient to talk and so they were soon sat with mugs of tea.  
"You can sleep if you need to, I can always wake you," Danny told her as they settled in to the sofa. "I can see how tired you are, how much sleep did you actually get last night?" he asked.

Clara shrugged, sipping at her tea, "not sure really, but anyway – I'm not here to sleep. I need to explain before I change my mind. I need to explain, be open and honest; you have to know why I did what I did last night." She looked down at her tea, trying to hold it together and taking deep breaths.

"You don't have to tell me anything if it's that difficult, I don't expect an explanation," he told her, but she shook her head.

"No Danny, no you need to understand," she told him. "I felt guilty, not that I knew that straight away it took 3 hours sat by a lake to work that out." Clara stood up, walking to the window and looking out as she talked to him.

"Guilty? Why?" he'd worry about the 3 hours by the lake later, "you have no reason to feel guilty Clara."

"But I do, at least, I thought I did, maybe I still do, I've not really decided yet." Her vagueness was worrying him. Clara put her mug down on the windowsill, leaning on it and looking out the window. "I was in a relationship, a really serious one. He's the reason I settled down and stopped travelling 2 years ago. It was the best decision I ever made, I never regretted it. We were happy, I'd moved in, he proposed," only now did she pull out the long chain hidden behind her top and hold the ring in her hand, turning around to face Danny. "Nobody saw it coming, there were no signs, no symptoms, he just dropped down one day in the middle of a classroom. There was nobody there, it was after hours, I found him but it was too late. Massive brain haemorrhage, an aneurysm or something they said, and he was gone. Overnight he just vanished," she couldn't help the tears falling now as she relived the moment. Danny jumped up and ran over, immediately hugging her and she fell in to him, breaking down. He didn't know what to say, so he just held her until she spoke again. "Last night, it was the first time I've even thought about being with anyone else, and I just felt like I was betraying him, like I was cheating on him," she explained.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry," Danny gently kissed her head, rubbing her back.

"Why?" Clara asked, finally stepping back. "You shouldn't be, and nor should I. It's been 6 months, I need to move on, it's just hard."

"He'll always be a part of you, with or without me and that's okay," Danny moved them together to sit her down and Clara curled her feet up, leaning her head on his shoulder as he rested an arm around her. "You should tell me about him, I want to know. Tell me everything."

Clara took a moment to get her breathing under control before adjusting herself a little ready to talk; she didn't know quite where to start, it was impossible to know. "We met in the weirdest place, it's complicated, I should never have been there, but I was. He practically saved my life, I nearly fell off a balcony I was… well, that doesn't matter. Anyway I never thought I'd see him again, I had to go and we were miles from home. Then the next week he turned up as the new history teacher at work. We hit it off straight away, started meeting at lunchtimes to chat, sometimes taking walks. He asked me out about a month later and we just got closer and closer. I fell hard, really hard, he was everything. Everyone would tell us how great we were together. He looked after me, I looked after him, we just worked." The memories came flooding back, the times he'd taken her out, surprised her with flowers at work when she was feeling rough. Clara stopped, sitting up and leaning forward.

"He sounds lovely, I'm so sorry you lost him," he told her, but Clara shook her head, wiping at her eyes.

"I can't think like that anymore. He… Tom, he's in my past. It was a wonderful chapter, but it's closed now. I can't take it back, it'll always be there, but I can't focus on it forever. There's so much more of the story to come, who knows how that will read, but I know where I'd like it to start." Clara finally sat up and looked him straight in the eyes, leaning in and kissing him softly, but Danny quickly shook his head, pulling back but not too far.

"Not when you're like this. Tonight we talk, I'll listen, let's do this right." He took her hand, gently kissing the top of it, "that and the fact anyone could walk in through that door at any time," Danny smiled and Clara eventually chuckled slightly, sniffling. They had a lot to talk about.


	7. Chapter 7

Clara woke up in Danny's bed, but he wasn't there. She looked around and spotted him appearing from the bathroom completely dressed and ready for the day.  
"Good morning sleepyhead," he smiled. "Sorry, I didn't want to go digging for your keys so I just bought you in here, I took the floor." Clara looked at him a little confused. "You fell asleep on me, didn't seem to be keen on waking up so I carried you back – that sofa didn't look so comfortable."

"Right and the floor was?" She sat up, swinging her legs out, "are you okay?" Clara inspected him to which he just giggled.

"I'm absolutely fine! Relax will you? And please go get ready I'm not covering for you again," he grinned and Clara went to leave, but quickly paused and jogged back to him, stealing a kiss before leaving silently, a smile on her face.

They sat apart at the meeting as they had done all week, they didn't want to arouse any suspicions. It wasn't easy; both of them would share glances or little smiles throughout. Most people didn't notice, Frankie clearly had and they were both quick to run out at the end to avoid her questions.

After breakfast they met up with the group who were happily chatting away about the day's activities. The main excitement was about the morning they were spending white water rafting on the local river. Clara herself was not actually looking forward to this one very much, the idea of being thrown about on water not really appealing to her, but Danny was quick to assure her it would all be fine. They walked over, none of the teens seeming to question anything which they were grateful for.

"You will be fine, I promise you. I'll go first and prove as such if it makes you feel better," he told her as they approached the river.

"Because you're a big brave man?" Clara grinned and walked forward to join some of the campers as the made it to the river. Waiting there was a rather handsome young chap who was obviously their instructor for the morning. Clara looked around to Danny and raised her eyebrows, he looked a little less impressed but she just smirked. "Hi, you must be Harry?" she asked, stretching out a hand which he shook.

"Clara?" she nodded

"And that's Danny. I'm sure this lot will introduce themselves as they go," she smiled and he returned the favour.

"Excellent, let's get started! Who's going first?" Harry asked. Toby, Pierce, Alice and Jonah stuck their hands up and Danny walked over to join them. "Gotcha, you guys come with me and the rest of you stay down here – it's a better view. I'll be back soon, there's another instructor waiting at the top." Harry smiled at Clara before taking the others up to the top.

"Oh my gosh he totally fancies you!" Courtney grinned at Clara and the others were quick to respond. "Hey you should totally go for it, he's hot."

"As much as I appreciate your relationship advice Courtney I think I'll pass, I'm here in a professional capacity," she replied.

"Oh come on, you're only saying that because of Mr Tristen, it's been ages now and you deserve someone just as cute." Clara bit her lip at the mention of Tom's name, holding back any sign of emotion.

"I suggest you keep that to yourself for your own sake," she snapped at her. Courtney seemed to get the message at that point and shut up; Clara had to turn away from the group to gather herself. It was stupid, just the mention of his name was enough to set her off and she was showing weakness she couldn't afford to show. Eventually she pulled herself together enough to turn around, finding 4 slightly nervous looking teenagers shuffling awkwardly.  
"Right, let's forget the last 5 minutes and prepare to watch the others race down a river," she said enthusiastically. That seemed to work as they rushed to sit down on the river bank and started chatting away. Harry reappeared at that moment, walking over to Clara.  
"Are they all terrified then?" she asked.

"Oh the campers are fine, but I'm pretty sure Danny is bricking it more than he'll let on," he grinned, "it's always the male leaders. They like to act all brave but in reality they're usually the most nervous ones out there." Clara laughed, she wasn't too surprised.

"Fair enough, I'm sure he'll be alright. How long you been doing this?"

"About 3 years now, it's great fun. How long have you been a teacher?" he asked to Clara's surprise, "I can smell teachers a mile off. You give yourselves away far too easily when compared to the other camp leaders we get here."

"Oh yeah, how's that then?"

"Well for a start you're all about 'professional distance' with the kids. Then there's your tone of voice, very different with me than it is with them. Then there's the way you dress…" he went to continue but Clara interrupted him.

"Danny told you didn't he?" she called him out. He paused for a moment before grinning.

"Little bit yeah, but you still haven't answered my question," Harry pointed out and Clara shrugged before answering. They chatted for a little while before the noise from further up the river suggested they were on their way and soon enough in site. Guided down by the other instructed they seemed to be moving at an alarming rate compared to what she expected, but none the less they were all still upright and did seem to be having a great time.

Eventually they all appeared and climbed out of the boat on to the side, smiling and laughing about their experience on the river and comparing how wet they'd all managed to get. Danny walked over to Harry and Clara, interrupting their conversation which had become rather friendly. He tapped Clara on the shoulder and she turned round, immediately laughing.  
"What?!" Danny asked, completely confused.

"Nothing, nothing honestly you had to be there. You look um… damp?" she replied.

"Little bit, it's great though honestly you'll love it," he told her, still half eyeing Harry up as he tried to work out what was going on.

"Well we'd better take you lot up now hadn't we, we'll let them dry off," Harry told her and Clara smiled and quickly gathered her group up, heading up the hill to get ready. Harry took them through all the safety things before getting them in life jackets and getting in the boat one by one. "Ready?" he asked the group. They all cheered, then he looked at Clara who nodded, far from ready but knowing there was no going back now. They started moving, the boat gathering momentum as the kids paddled down. Clara watched on, specifically watching Courtney as she started to move around in the boat.

"Courtney, calm it!" she shouted at her as she looked like she was about to stand up in the boat. "Courtney Woods sit down!" Clara could only watch as she ignored her completely and stood up, immediately losing balance and falling in to the rapid flowing river. Everyone froze for a split second which felt more like an hour. Harry just looked shocked and seemed to be racking his brain for a solution, but Clara didn't waste time thinking. She quickly made everyone rearrange to balance out the boat before climbing out herself. They were about half way down and the other group had run up the river having seen what had happened. Clara managed to wade through to where Courtney was clinging on to a rock, screaming for help. "Alright I'm nearly with you, just keep holding on for me, you're doing great," she tried to reassure her, almost shouting the phrase due to the noise of the water around them.

"Clara be careful!" Danny shouted, already angry that Harry seemed to be doing nothing.

"I'm fine," she shouted back without turning round and then spoke to Harry "guide them down! Now!" that shocked him back in to reality and he did as told. Clara made it over to Courtney who was now struggling to keep her head above the fast flowing rapid. She reached forward to take her hand but an unexpected blast of water suddenly knocked her off her feet.

"Miss!" Courtney shouted at her as she was suddenly pushed back and her head was hit seemingly very hard on the rock nearest to her, immediately knocking her out.

"Courtney!" Danny shouted from the river's edge to get her attention. He was already taking his jacket off. "Get hold of her, you know how," he told her – she did know how, they'd all done their lifesaver badge at swimming. Courtney seemed to panic for a moment before managing to reach over and grab Clara to keep her afloat and her head above water. Danny had already jumped in, making his way over – he seemed to know exactly how to walk through this water. "Is she breathing?" he asked, but she just looked down in panic. "Courtney! Is she breathing?" he asked again and Courtney eventually nodded. "Good, well done," he told her as he reached her. "We're gonna get back together okay? Just follow my lead."

Danny guided Courtney back as he took Clara and carried her back through the water. Before they knew it they'd made it on to dry land and were greeted by a crowd of campers and the 2 instructors. He pushed them back, giving himself space. Clara's breathing was becoming more and more laboured now.  
"Call an ambulance," he looked up to Harry who stood there stunned, "you've done nothing else helpful today will you please just do this!" That pushed him in to action and he grabbed his phone from the side and dialled 999. "George can you please check Courtney over," he instructed the other leader, "she's in shock and probably very cold," once that was dealt with he turned his attention back to Clara who he'd already placed in the recovery position. He suddenly noticed her breathing had stopped and he quickly turned her on her back, giving her rescue breaths. After the 3rd she suddenly coughed, turning on to her side to cough up the water and breathing deeply. Danny sighed with relief and supported her a little, moving her hair away from her face.

The ambulance arrived in 5 minutes, the paramedics running up the hill to them. Danny stood up to move away but Clara wouldn't let go of the hand she was holding and eventually he realised he would have to stay. The paramedics were fine to move around him, getting Clara on oxygen as her SATs were still a little low and her breathing slightly laboured. Danny instructed Harry and George to take the campers back except Courtney who was sat in a foil blanket in the back of the ambulance. He called Frankie, filling her in as best he could before they put Clara on the trolley and took her in to hospital.

Danny paced the room anxiously as he waited for news. They'd taken her straight for a CT scan and then in to the resus area and he'd been asked to wait in the relatives room. He hated it, not knowing what was going on, not knowing if she was still conscious, still alive… _"no,"_ he whispered to himself, shaking that thought off. She would be fine, of course she would. He'd told her this would all be fine, he's said it would be fun. This wasn't fun, this was the complete opposite of fun.

It seemed like hours before anyone came in, but eventually the door opened and Danny rushed over to the rather young looking doctor.  
"She's absolutely fine. The blow to her head knocked her out, but there's no sign of any trauma. Clara's a very lucky woman, and she's also asking for you. I'll show you where we've moved her to," the doctor smiled and Danny nodded, finally breathing out. "We'll keep her in overnight for observation, but if that's all fine then we'll let her go in the morning." The doctor led him out to a small room that seemed a little out the way before leaving him to go in.

Danny made his way into her side room cautiously, not entirely sure how she was going to react to him considering he'd been the one to tell her it would be fine. She looked pale on the bed but otherwise she seemed okay. Clara lay on her side, presumably to avoid lying on her bruised head.

"Is Courtney okay?" she asked as he appeared in her eye line. Danny suddenly found himself laughing, much to Clara's confusion. "What? Is she okay?"

"A little shocked but yes, she's fine. Sorry, it's just only you could be thinking about that above your own health," he smiled gently and sat down in the chair beside her bed. She reached out with one hand which he took. "I'm just relieved you're okay, I was so worried I…" Clara pulled his hand up to her lips and kissed it gently to shut him up.

"You saved my life, and I can't thank you enough for that. It's thanks to you that I'm okay, things would be much worse otherwise. Thank you for staying, it means a lot," she told him honestly, her voice breaking a little at the end.

"Hey, don't you be getting all soppy and emotional on me now Miss Oswald, you've already left me with 8 teenagers to handle alone," he said straightfaced, but chuckled when she started to look worried.

"I'll be back tomorrow, honestly I feel fine," she told him, looking about ready to sit up but he made sure to stop her.

"There is no way you can be jumping around in a swimming pool tomorrow and I'm pretty sure the doctors will agree with me on that. You should really be going home…" he was quickly interrupted at this point.

"No chance, you're not making me leave! I'll sit on the pool side if you like I can lie there without doing much but I refuse to go home. The rest of the week isn't too taxing anyway, please just tell Frankie we'll work it out. I can't go home," she spoke honestly and he suddenly understood. He used his thumb to wipe away tears and quickly sat back, deciding this really wasn't the moment to be getting too close.

"Why did you jump in after Courtney? Why didn't you let the professionals go?" he asked, needing to know.

"Because the so called professionals were doing sod all about it," she told him. Danny nodded, "it was instinctive, I didn't really think. Just habit."

"Oh so you make a habit of jumping in to dangerous situations and saving people then?" Danny commented sarcastically.

"Used to," Clara replied almost under her breath. When Danny clearly hadn't heard her she spoke up a bit, "I don't try to." Not a lie, just not quite the truth. "Besides you basically did the same," she pointed at him in his borrowed hospital scrubs. "Attractive by the way."

"Thanks. And I know I did, but I've been trained for this, I'm pretty sure I don't remember the jumping in to fast flowing river option on the PGCE course," Danny leaned over now and grabbed the jug of water by her bed, pouring some for her.

"You obviously went to the wrong university," she replied.

"Your sense of humour is still intact I see, that's good to know. Now I should really leave you to rest Clara," he went to stand up but she refused to let go of her hand.

"Please don't go, not yet, it feels less like I'm stuck in a hospital bed when you're here," she told him. "Not a big hospital fan really." Danny nodded, understanding.

"Alright, I'll stay till you drop off but I really shouldn't be away too long." Clara smiled softly, shutting her eyes. Danny watched on. Her smile was something so completely special, and she seemed so peaceful now with her eyes closed. He could still hear her gasps for breath from earlier, the moment he realised she'd stopped, he didn't want to leave either, too afraid she might disappear. It was stupid, but she was just as fragile as he was and Danny knew how that felt. Maybe, just maybe they could help each other now. That would need more thinking about.


	8. Chapter 8

Clara was indeed let out the next morning. Frankie picked her up as Danny was dealing with the group's morning activity.

"We switched things around a bit so they'll go swimming this afternoon. I'm told you're determined to stick around which is absolutely fine, but I'm watching what you're doing like a hawk. So essentially you can sunbathe this afternoon if you wish, but nothing else. I heard what the doctor said – nothing strenuous. As for the rest of the morning, bed rest," Clara went to protest, "read a book, draw a picture, whatever you wish but you look shattered, hospital beds aren't that comfy." Frankie pulled up outside her building, "I need to go check something out so I'll leave you here, but you call Danny or me if you need anything alright? He'll come wake you for lunch." Clara nodded, knowing there was little point in arguing.

Frankie didn't leave until she was inside the building and Clara smiled a little at her concern, she was actually pretty tired and the sleep wouldn't do her any harm. She unlocked her room and smiled when she found flowers in a jar on the table and a box of maltesers on her pillow with a note reading ' _better than any hospital food x'_ sitting on top. She moved the maltesers so she could lie down carefully and pulled her phone out of her pocket.

 _'Breaking in to my room now are we?'_ she text Danny, not expecting a reply but one came almost instantly.

 _'Frankie went in to get your clothes; I may have stuck my foot in to the door when she left. How are you feeling?'_ he replied.

 _'Good, better than I thought I would. Will try and sleep for a bit now, see you later and thank you for the flowers, they're lovely x'_ she quickly locked her phone and put it on silent, shutting her eyes and soon enough she drifted off.

The knock on the door came at 12:45, at least she was pretty sure that's what the clock said when she looked at it with blurry eyes. Clara stood up carefully and made her way to the door, opening it to see a smiling Danny stood the other side. She moved away to allow him in before allowing the door to drop shut and sitting back down, rubbing her head a little.

"Is it sore?" he asked and she gave him a look.

"Yesterday I bashed it against a huge rock at goodness knows what speed, of course it's sore," she snapped a little before looking apologetic, "sorry, headaches do bad things to me. Painkillers have worn off; I'll take more with lunch. How was your morning?" she asked, putting on a happier face.

"Not bad, rounders is quite an entertaining sport. Looking forward to lying by the pool this afternoon though I must say," he smiled and sat down beside her.

"Aren't you going in?" she asked, leaning over so her head lay on his shoulder. It shocked her a little how instinctive that felt, but it was comfy so she stuck with it.

"Someone's got to keep you company," he smiled, "speaking of which, I'm a little hungry." Clara sighed.

"You're gonna make me get up aren't you?" she asked and he quickly stood up, grabbing her hand. "Come on, dinner time," he told her and pulled her up gently. "There are 8 very concerned teenagers waiting in there for you." Clara nodded a little, not quite sure if she wanted to handle all the questions but it was going to happen sooner or later.

He wasn't wrong either. The moment she got in the dining hall Courtney and Karlie ran over l with slightly worried looks on their faces, Courtney especially so.  
"Miss I'm so sorry I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I was being stupid and I…" Clara shook her head.

"It's fine, we all do silly things, and it's still Clara while we're here. How are you feeling? Were you injured?" Clara asked, half looking her over for any signs.

"No, I was just really cold. Does your head hurt?" she asked. Clara was pretty sure she'd never seen the girl so worried about a teacher.

"A little, but to be expected, I'll be fine. Now are you two going to fetch us lunch or not?" she asked and they quickly nodded and ran off. Danny looked at her, Clara smirked back, "got to make the most of it," she commented before walking off to sit at the table with the others.

"Yeah but he kissed Clara!" she heard Toby's voice as they reached the table. Everyone else went quiet and he must have looked rather confused.

"Oh did he now?" Clara stood behind Toby and spoke which made him both jump and suddenly go bright red. "I think you'll find he was just helping me breathe again kiddo, nothing to gossip about I'm afraid," she sat down beside Alice and Danny immediately sat the other side of her, not commenting at all. "Ready to swim this afternoon? I hope you're all going to impress me with your diving moves."

"I can't wait, it's been so warm today," Alice piped up as Karlie and Courtney appeared with plates of food for them.

"How hungry do you think I am?!" Clara laugh as she saw all the food in front of her. Courtney shrugged, sitting back down. "Cheers love, I'll eat what I can. You look tired did you sleep okay?" she asked, biting in to her food.

"She was worried," Karlie said, "we all were." Clara looked round at them all and then smiled.

"You're all sweethearts, thank you. Make sure you all get an early night tonight." They all looked up before bursting in to laughter. "Alright it was worth a try. Come on now, let's finish eating and get out to the pool."

They made their way out, the teens all rushing off to collect their swimming bags and Clara eventually persuaded Danny to take his with him. Once they'd arrived, the campers made their way to change and Clara found a sun lounger, pulling her top layer of clothing off to reveal the bikini below. She looked up at Danny and smirked.  
"Never seen a woman in a bikini before?" she asked, his jaw had dropped well and truly. She laughed as he quickly composed himself.

"Of… of course I have. Just um, wasn't expecting that," he told her. Clara shrugged, smiling and laying down on the sun lounger.

"Well go and change then, you can't be the only one here in normal clothes," she told him and he obediently left.

One by one the teens reappeared and jumped in to the pool, laughing and joking around. Alice and Jonah were swimming lengths, seemingly racing each other, while Courtney, Karlie, Toby and Ben were all having some sort of water fight. Danny came back over after a few minutes and lay down on the lounger beside her. "See was that so bad?" Clara asked as she turned her head to look at him, quickly having to cover her shock at how toned his chest was.

"I suppose not. Are you alright there? Can I get you anything?" he asked, suddenly sitting up again.

"Just lie back and relax for goodness sake, I'm absolutely fine," she replied, eventually persuading him to return back to his position on the sun lounger. "Any reason you keep looking at me?" she asked after a few minutes of him glancing over and then looking away.

"No, no I just…" Danny sighed, "I just think you're far too gorgeous to be a teacher," he admitted, grinning sheepishly.

"Is there a scale that I missed somewhere then?" Clara asked and he looked quickly as though he said something wrong, "oh don't worry, I'm flattered, and flattery can get you many places. You know you could probably be on that list yourself?"

"How exactly did you deduce that?" he asked.

"There aren't many teachers in the world with a chest that toned," she pointed out, "I assume that's army formed?" Danny nodded.

"Well it's not all bad then, and hey, at least you'll be good at laser quest this evening," Clara joked, but Danny didn't seem to get it, "you know because of the guns and stuff?"

"Yeah I know what you meant," he snapped and quickly looked away.

"Danny it's just a joke, you were in the army you use guns it's just-"

"It's just nothing, that's not something you joke about! There's more to the army than shooting people you know?" he stood up and started to walk off.

"Danny come on," she went to stand up but felt a little dizzy so had to stop, sighing as she watched him go and turning to see all the campers had stopped in the pool and were staring at them, or just her now. "Alright you lot show's over, get back to what you were doing. I'll be back," she told them and stood up slower, nodding to the lifeguards who were thankfully there which allowed her to leave.

After checking the staff area and the dining room Clara eventually tried his room, knocking on the door. There was no answer initially but she tried again, this time prompting him to tell her to come in although maybe reluctantly. She opened the door and walked in, hands raised.

"You shouldn't be walking alone," he grumbled, having glanced over but now looking back away and out the window.

"Danny I'm sorry," she apologised, ignoring his comment, "I didn't mean to upset you, I realise this is a difficult part of your life I should never have pushed that." Clara walked over and sat down beside him on the windowsill. There was silence for a moment before he spoke.

"We've both had difficult pasts, I shouldn't expect you to have known how I was going to react to that like I would never have known about Tom," Clara winced a little at the mention of his name, "oh gosh I'm sorry…" he quickly apologised and pulled her in to a hug which took her a little by surprise, not that she was going to complain. "There's a lot we don't know about each other I guess." Clara nodded as she sat up.

"You have no idea…" she replied, looking back out the window and wiping at her eyes.

"Tell me?" he asked, reaching a hand out and taking hers. "If you want to that is, please tell me."

"It's just been hard, since he died. I've not been myself since, everyone has noticed. Adrian, he's probably the only reason I'm still here, you're not the only one who saved my life," Clara sighed, "I've buried myself in work, I hated being home. Some days I'd stay there till 9 or 10 to mark or plan lessons just as an excuse not to leave. The idea of the holidays have haunted me, especially the summer. I can't keep hanging out at Adrian's, he has his own family to think about. My Dad is great and all but he just keeps comparing it to my Mum and that really doesn't help, and then my Gran is doing her best but she doesn't need me there all the time either. It's like losing him has lost me my whole world and I don't know how to cope alone," she spoke truthfully. As she finished Danny pulled out his phone, "what are you doing?" she asked.

"Texting Frankie to ask her to collect the group at 5, you need to stay here and I'm not leaving you," he told her, standing up and leading her over to his bed where he made her lay down. "We'll see them at dinner," Danny told her, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her.

"Lie down?" she asked him quietly, shuffling over a little, "please, I'm just tired of being alone," she reached out and took his hand, putting on her best puppy dog eyes which worked a treat and he finally gave in and turned around, lying down beside her. Clara was quick to move her head to rest on him, resting her right arm over his abdomen and shutting her eyes. Danny found himself lying completely still, looking at Clara who was already falling asleep. She hadn't got dressed to leave the pool, she was still in her bikini and it was getting a little chilly in this room thanks to the very effective air conditioning. He reached down and grabbed the blanket he'd thrown down the previous night, pulling it up over her and tucking her hair back carefully when he noticed it had fallen down in front of her face.

"I'm not going to let you be alone again," he whispered, leaning back and listening to her gently breathing as she slept.


	9. Chapter 9

**Fun news - I've actually reached my Camp Nano word count! Not all of it is yet uploaded and I may continue this a little longer... just to see where they end up!**

When Clara woke she couldn't quite place where she was until she looked up and saw Danny sleeping. She carefully sat up and reached across for his phone on the side to check the time – 5:50am. Had she really slept for that long? Her stomach suddenly growled in agreement, but there was very little she could do to satisfy that now and instead she decided to settle back down where she had been and tried to work out what had happened. Clara knew that last night she'd told Danny things that she'd never told anyone else before, but she didn't regret it. They'd known each other less than a week and spent half of that shouting but yet she still felt closer to him than she had to anyone else. Just lying here there was a slight flutter in her chest and she felt comfortable, so very comfortable. Suddenly the world didn't seem like a big pile of stress anymore, suddenly it felt like she had something to live for. This man who had seemed like such a threat, but why? Because she was scared of feeling that way again? Maybe. Last time she'd fallen in love it had all fallen apart in front of her eyes, she'd become a scared, vulnerable and hidden person. Somehow she could see a mirror of that in him, a little of that vulnerability she knew so well. They were good for each other, really good, at least she hoped so.

When Danny woke he suddenly realised Clara wasn't there and panicked a moment before hearing the shower and smiling. He sat up, checking his phone and reading the message from Frankie.

 _Hope Clara is alright now, your lot were a delight last night we had a blast (literally and metaphorically!). See you at the meeting?_

He confirmed they'd be there with a reply and put the phone down as Clara reappeared with her hair damp and wearing just his shirt.  
"Sorry I didn't have any clothes in here so I've borrowed this… is that okay?" she asked sheepishly and he was quick to nod, not quite sure how to react. "Eyes front soldier," she grinned and went over, sitting down on the end of the bed. "I'm a little confused how it became 6:45?" Clara asked, leaning back against the wall and pulling her knees up to her chest.

"You were fast asleep, didn't seem to want to be woken so I gave up in the end, text Frankie and asked her to supervise at laser quest and you just slept through. How're you feeling?" he asked, flexing his neck a little – that was 2 nights this week she'd managed to make him sleep in an uncomfortable position.

"A little more refreshed and a lot less dizzy, thank you, but are you okay? Have you eaten?" Clara asked looking concerned.

"Nah but I'm good, honestly. If you check out that drawer over there," he pointed at the desk, "there's a stash of apples in there if you want something before breakfast." She pushed herself back up from the bed and made her way over, opening the drawer and pulling out two apples, chucking one to him.

"Danny I-" she started as she sat back down but he just smiled and leant forward, kissing her gently.

"Anytime," he told her, "and I mean that." Clara couldn't respond for a moment. "You should go get dressed, I'm pretty sure people will be asking questions if you turn up to the meeting in that," he smiled and kissed her cheek this time, "I'll see you there."

"Danny we need to talk," she started but he shook his head.

"Later, I promise we will but later." Clara understood, they were in this little safe haven where they were both only a few steps from each other. Soon they'd be heading home, different places, different lives; neither of them wanted this to end. Without either of them saying anything, something had begun here and it was special, so special that nothing had to be spoken to know.

Clara left his room soon after and got dressed, making her way out to the meeting. She was pretty early and so sat in her usual spot, going through her messages she'd missed yesterday on her phone. Frankie sat down beside her when she arrived.

"How are you feeling? What actually happened, Danny just said you needed sleep?" she asked, looking a little concerned.

"Oh I'm good, honestly. Things just got a little," she paused, trying to work out how to explain it. "I said something that really upset Danny yesterday, he left the pool and I knew I couldn't leave him that upset so I let the lifeguards know I was going. We talked a lot, I got a little upset and stressed and I guess that was too much in the current situation and Danny recognised that. I was going to get up for the evening but I guess that just… didn't happen?" she explained. "I didn't wake till 10 to 5 this morning, a little crazy really."

Frankie looked like she was trying to work something out, "so if you were fast asleep, how come Danny couldn't come last night either?" she asked.

"I kinda fell asleep on top of him, he couldn't really move. I feel a little bad, poor guy must be starving and a little uncomfortable," Clara told her, shrugging it off as nothing but Frankie had an excitable grin on her face.

"Oh I'm not sure he'll be complaining," she told her, winking and standing up to go and speak to one of the other leaders who had just arrived. Clara raised her eyebrows and then shook her head, looking back down to her phone and reading the 13 messages from Adrian. She had now realised she'd not been in contact with him since the accident and he had no idea what had been going on. Evidently her lack of contact had concerned him given that over half the texts were asking whether she was okay. She stood up, putting her notebook down on the chair and stepping out in to the hall, dialling his number.

Adrian answered almost immediately, despite the early hour. "You're still alive then?" he sounded relieved, Clara felt a little guilty for not contacting him. "I know you're busy but that's the longest I've not heard from you since all this and you've been so upset I was just worried," Clara had to stop him.

"Adrian I'm okay, I promise. I just had a bit of an accident the other day and things have been a bit hectic I didn't mean to go silent I just haven't really looked at my phone," she told him, smiling as she spotted Danny coming in the building. He looked at her as if to ask if she was alright and Clara responded with a nod and pointed to the phone, mouthing Adrian's name and he quickly understood, slipping inside the room.

"Clara?!" Adrian's voice came back clear again in her ear, "what do you mean accident? What the hell happened?" he asked.

"Please calm down, it's okay now. Courtney fell in to the river when we were white water rafting; I jumped in after her and misjudged the current, hit my head on a rock. I had to stay in overnight and I slept an awful lot yesterday but I feel fine now," she explained, brushing her drying hair to one side as she waited for his reply.

"You should have called me Clara, I could have come down," he told her, "I could have driven you home, you shouldn't still be there, not alone."

"I'm not alone Adrian, I swear everything is fine. I'm being looked after. I have to go, the meeting is about to start. I'll talk to you soon, I promise, and I'm home tomorrow anyway so as long as you're still going to make me dinner then I'll see you then." Clara told him.

"Of course I'll be there, we have a lot of catching up to do missy," he told her, "have a good day, but look after yourself." Clara agreed and hung up, making her way back in to the room and sat back down. Danny had sat next to her this time; there wasn't much point in still pretending they weren't getting on considering the last few days. He looked over, obviously wanting to know what had happened on her phone call.

"I kinda hadn't text Adrian since before the accident and he was freaking out a little. It's all cleared up now; I'm seeing him tomorrow anyway. How's your neck?" she asked him.

"It's fine," he replied, but she gave him an uncertain look, "honestly, please stop worrying. Now we'd best listen or Frankie might pounce." They both looked back out in to the circle of leaders as they went through the final day's instructions.

Most of the day involved whole camp activities and an awful lot of running around, but after dinner it was time for the final night disco. Everyone was dressing up as superheroes, leaders included, which was always going to be entertaining. Clara checked herself in the mirror, feeling a little self-conscious in her wonder woman outfit. She took a deep breath and grabbed her bag, leaving the room and immediately walking in to Danny. "Oh gosh sorry," she bent down to pick up her keys that she'd dropped and looked up. "So you're superman then?"

"And you're wonder woman, it was meant to be," he grinned and bent down to pick up the couple of bits that had escaped from her bag. "Last night then," he stated as they both stood up.

"What a week…" she smiled, gesturing forward and they both started to walk out. "I'm not sure it's quite what you signed up for," Clara chuckled.

"I've had worse weeks," he shrugged and she raised her eyes, "oh believe me, I have. I've actually really enjoyed it. I thought I was going to be spending the week with a bunch of pretty dull people but I was so very wrong," Danny grinned as they walked across the courtyard to the barn they were having the disco in.

"Well I'm glad to hear that, ready?" Clara asked and he nodded. They both made their way inside to find a variety of costumes and the campers already dancing away. Clara sat down at the edge of the room and it wasn't long before Courtney and Karlie ran over.

"You look awesome," Courtney announced. "We should do more dressing up days at school," she told her but Clara laughed.

"No chance, once is enough tah," she replied, but laughed. "You lot having fun?"

"Yeah it's fab! Are you gonna dance?" Karlie asked as Danny appeared beside them with a drink for Clara.

"I'm pretty good watching thanks," she smiled at Danny as she took the coke from him.

"Don't worry girls, I'll make sure she's up on the dance floor in a bit," Danny grinned at them as he sat down.

Courtney and Karlie locked eyes and nodded, but both leaders were clueless as to what they were doing. "Alright, see you later!" Courtney announced as they ran off to join the group again. Danny gave Clara a questioning look and she shrugged.

"I've known that girl for long enough but I still don't understand half of what she does. Thanks for this, by the way," she sipped at the coke and sighed a little, looking out at the dance floor.

"What's up?" Danny asked, watching her facial expressions and trying to work her out. He'd come to learn this week that this wasn't easy to do.

Clara didn't respond immediately, taking a moment to work out what to say. "I don't want to leave," she said, "I've felt so much better these last couple of days, better than I have for months."

"I know what you mean, I really do," he told her. They sat in silence for a little while, just watching and supervising, occasionally piping up to stop overexcited teenagers from going a little too crazy. Clara tried to work out what Danny could be talking about, he'd really not let a lot on considering how much they'd talked recently. Generally he'd been very good at keeping the conversation on her, there was definitely something he was hiding. After about half an hour Clara decided it was getting a little warm in the room and stood up, nodding towards the door when Danny looked up before heading out.

Sure enough, he soon followed her outside and stood beside her in the summer evening air. Clara looked out over the campsite, not looking around as he stopped to her left. "What happened in the army?" Clara asked. She could feel Danny's shock, but she had worked it out after putting the pieces together. She kept her eyes on the view in front of them for now, not wanting to pressure him.

"I made a mistake, a big mistake," he spoke, his voice breaking slightly. "I've had enough people telling me it's not my fault, and I know it wasn't, but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with. Everyone thinks it's our job to kill people, but that's not why we're there. We go to help save innocent lives. I built buildings, dug wells, kept school's safe. But one day I got it wrong, and an innocent young boy was in the wrong place at the wrong time. For months I was a wreck, I'm better now, much better, but it doesn't make it any less horrible to think about." He admitted and Clara immediately reached a hand out to his and squeezed it.

"You're so brave, everything you did. Everything you've done this week just proves that. You're a wonderful man and I can see that," she told him. Danny looked down at her, almost shocked. Clara turned her head also to look at him. "I don't think any less of you for this, but thank you for telling me."

"It's only fair, you told me your secrets," he told her. They kept eye contact for a moment before he spoke again, "mind if I…?" he whispered and Clara nodded slightly. Danny leant in gently and gave her a quick kiss.

"I KNEW IT!" They both separated quickly and looked around to see Courtney stood just at the door of the barn, thankfully far enough away to have not heard any of their conversation. "Oh man wait till everyone back at school hears about this," she grinned and ran back inside. Clara sighed, leaning her head on Danny's chest.

"That's my secret out I guess," she smiled and stood back up. "Back in?" He nodded and they walked back towards the barn, not separating their hands this time, given that half the barn probably already knew.

They spent the rest of the disco avoiding the various comments and trying to keep as professional as they could, answering all the questions vaguely. Eventually all the teenagers were sent off to bed, still buzzing but also shattered from all the activities. After lights out the leaders returned to the disco to have their own party. A few beers and a couple of bottles of wine appeared from nowhere and they all grabbed a drink, dancing a little as they all chatted. Time went by, various people retired to bed leaving just a few of them behind. Danny put his bottle down on the chair beside her as a slower song came on and took Clara's glass, placing that down too before taking her hand and standing up. "May I have this dance?" he asked, ignoring Frankie's grinning face from the other side of the room.

"It seems I don't have much choice," Clara chuckled and stood up with him. They walked forward a little before he put his arms around her waist and she rested hers on his shoulder, linking her hands. They moved together, keeping eye contact and ignoring everyone around them.

"Come away with me, in a couple of weeks I'm going away," Danny spoke in their mutual silence, much to Clara's surprise. "You said you didn't know what to do for the rest of the holidays, come with me." It didn't take much persuading for her to agree.

"Anywhere," she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently.

"Finally!" Frankie said in some sort of relief, before adding, "go get a room you two!" Clara looked round and rolled her eyes before turning back and leaning her head in to Danny's chest as they continued to sway gently.

After the next song the DJ put on some more upbeat music and they finally separated.  
"You alright love?" Danny asked, looking down at Clara who looked a little sombre. She nodded, taking his hand and leading him out.

"One last night," she told him, "I know we're going away but that's 2 weeks and…" Danny kissed her head gently.

"Come on, one last night," he led her back to his room, "you're gonna be just fine, you're not alone now," Danny told her as they lay down to enjoy their last night.

The next morning they both woke early, the sunlight pushing in through the slight gap in the curtains on to the tangled sheets they lay in. Danny kissed her head gently, brushing her hair back.

"I need to pack," she mumbled, linking their fingers and watching them entwine. "When are you leaving?" she asked.

"Last, more than likely, Frankie's dropping me home. You?" he asked and sat up. She joined him, still not leaving the bed.

"Once the group have gone, I have to get back for Adrian," she sighed, leaning against his shoulder. "This week has been the most amazing week; I don't want to leave."

"You nearly died, how is that amazing?" he asked.

"You saved me," Clara smiled softly kissing him. "And I don't just mean from the river," she told him.

"You're getting soppy now," he grinned and kissed her again, "you need to go pack."

"I don't want to, can't we just stay here?" she asked, wrapping her arms around him.

"I think your Adrian might have something to say about that. Best get you home for dinner eh?" Danny chuckled and pushed her towards the edge of the bed, but Clara clung on. After a little bit of pushing and pulling they ended up on the floor, laughing.

"Alright point made, I'm going," she stood up and smiled, quickly pulling her clothes on. "See you in the dining hall?" Danny nodded, watching her leave before eventually moving himself.

A few hours later and a lot of goodbyes, including multiple hugs from all the group and it was only leaders left stood in the courtyard.

"Where do you want to go?" Danny appeared beside Clara, making her jump. She turned around quickly and looked confused. "On holiday, where do you want to go?"

"You haven't booked it?" she asked, but Danny shook his head.

"I like to be spontaneous," he grinned, "so where would you like to go?"

Clara thought for a moment and then looked up, "somewhere amazing," she smiled. "Surprise me. But I've been thinking, you should meet Adrian, he can be a little protective and if I'm suddenly disappearing on holiday…" Danny laughed and nodded.

"I gotcha, he's looked after you, you're best mates," she nodded and leant in to hug her, "just tell me when and where, I know we're opposite sides of London but I'll be there." Clara nodded, holding on to him tightly. "Let me know you get home yeah? You definitely feel okay to drive?"

"Honestly if you ask me that one more time I'll hit you. I'm fine, but I do need to go," she stood back up and pulled her car keys out of her pocket. "See you soon," Clara smiled and started to walk away but Danny followed her to your car. "You do actually need to go and help Frankie soon before she starts accusing me of distracting you," Clara stood by the open door of her car as Danny walked closer.

He hooked an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. "Well maybe you are distracting me," he told her, smiling and kissing her gently. Clara leant in to it for a moment before pulling back, shaking her head.

"I need to go Danny, I need to go. I don't want to, but I need to. I'll call you as soon as I'm back okay?" Clara lowered herself down in to the car and pulled the door shut, smiling at him through the window. Danny watched as she drove away, unable to stop himself from smiling and yet a large part of him immediately missing something. Frankie wandered over, leaning against the wall beside where he was stood.

"I never thought I'd see the day where Sergeant Danny Pink was in love. I'm happy for ya, she's a god lass," Frankie patted him on the back. "However, I've got a lot of packing up to do and if you don't help me I'll be taking that phone off you," she pointed to his phone that was already in his hands to text her and then quickly grabbed it, running off with him following, both laughing.


	10. Chapter 10

Clara was pacing the floor trying to think of things she needed to do. Everything was tidy and dinner was in the oven, there was nothing else to do, but she was ridiculously nervous. Once she'd got home from camp she'd told Adrian everything and of course he was more than happy for her, but, as expected, also very protective.

 _"Does he know?" Adrian asked once she'd finished explaining._

 _"Yes, everything he needs to know for now. The rest will come out over time, but he knows a lot." Clara informed him. "I know we didn't get on to start with but you were right and he's lovely, I really like him."_

 _"I can tell," he smiled, "but going away all of a sudden it's a bit…" Adrian sighed, "I just don't want you getting hurt Clara. I've watched you suffer enough, I don't want him adding to that."_

 _"Then meet him, let me prove it all to you. I'll invite him round and you can come too, I already told him you'd want to make sure," Clara told him and threw a bottle of beer at him. "Now relax for goodness sake."_

The last week she'd been so much happier. She missed Danny, but they spoke every day and he'd changed her life for the better. When she'd gone in to work multiple people had commented how she seemed much more like herself for the first time in a while. Everything was looking up. Right now, however, she was just plain terrified.

Adrian arrived first; he'd bought his niece with him as he'd told her he would.  
"Clara!" She ran at Clara who picked her up and spun her round.

"Hey monkey, you okay?" Niamh nodded and started rambling about how Uncle Adrian had taken her to the zoo again and she got to see the monkeys. Clara nodded along, taking her through to the living room and sitting her down on the sofa. "Sounds like you've had a great weekend!"

"Uncle Adrian says you're meeting your boyfriend today, he says he needs to make sure he's not going to hurt you. Why would he hurt you?" Niamh asked innocently, prompting Clara to look up at Adrian who was looking a little sheepish.

"Your Uncle is just being a really good friend," Clara told her. "Here you go, I put Lion King in the DVD player especially for you." She handed Niamh that TV remote and stood up, walking through to the kitchen with Adrian. "So Danny's gonna hurt me huh?" she flicked the kettle on.

"I uh…" he stuttered, but Clara just laughed and turned back around.

"Relax I already predicted that thought. I understand," Adrian was still looking stunned. "What? What is it now?"

"You haven't been that cheeky to me in months," he told her, "I used to get that all the time."

"Well what can I say?" Clara shrugged, "things change." As she finished the doorbell rang, "can you finish the tea?" She put the milk down on the side, walking out in to the hall.

"What if I don't want to?!" he called after her.

"Then I'll throw it at you later!" she called back before opening the door. "Hey!" she jumped on Danny and hugged him. He returned the favour before kissing her softly, one that lingered for a little while before being interrupted by both Adrian and Niamh both shouting 'ewwwww' at them in a somewhat childish manner. They both smiled as they separated and Clara spun round, running down the hall at Adrian and Niamh who both ran in to their respective rooms, laughing. Danny walked in slowly.

"Should I be scared?" He asked, shutting the door. "They don't bite… much…" she laughed, walking over and took his hands. "I've missed you," she told him. "Come on, I'll introduce you properly." Clara led him in to the kitchen where Adrian had 3 mugs of tea waiting. "See, wasn't that bad was it? Adrian, this is Danny."

"Oh thank goodness for that I was scared you were snogging the face off some random bloke," he spoke bluntly to which Danny appeared a little perplexed, but Clara just rolled her eyes.

"Stop teasing the poor guy," she handed Danny his tea. "You'll get used to it, he doesn't really stop."

"Eh says you, if you're really back to your usual self he'd better watch out," Adrian chuckled, "sorry, you're probably a little overwhelmed already. Believe it or not it's lovely to meet you," he held a hand out which Danny shook.

"Oh don't worry about it, it's lovely to meet you too, Clara's told me a lot about you." Clara snuck out between them, leaving them to talk.

After dinner Clara took the plates through to the kitchen, swiftly followed by Adrian who was carrying glasses. Once they'd put everything down he shut the kitchen door.

"Eh what you doing?" Clara asked.

"Clara Oswald I never thought I'd say this again, but he's perfect for you," Adrian told her, "and he really likes you. I definitely approve. I'm so happy you've found someone," he smiled. "I'm going to get Niamh home I think she's tired. Give you two some time alone." Adrian winked at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Thank you, for everything. All your support these last few months, I'm grateful. You're a pretty good best friend ya know?" she smiled, punching him jokingly in the chest. "I'll see you soon."

"Phone me tomorrow, I want details," he told her. Clara didn't quite know how to respond, "joking!" he laughed and went out to collect Niamh.

Danny walked in to the kitchen after Adrian had said goodbye and left. Clara was still washing up and didn't actually notice him arrive until he wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck softly. She stopped briefly, keeping her hands held over the sink but leaning back in to him.  
"Hey," she whispered, smiling gently. "Are you okay? I know Adrian can seem a little odd, but…"

"He's great, and he clearly means a lot to you and you to him," Danny told her. Clara quickly looked around, "don't worry I'm not jealous, I'm grown up enough to know that men and woman can be friends without being in a relationship," he smiled.

"Well I sure hope we're not one of those pairs," Clara grinned and kissed him softly, "I need to finish this."

"No you don't," he grabbed a towel from the side and handed it to her. "Come on, let's go talk holidays," Danny led her out to the sofa where they had no intention of moving for the rest of the evening.

* * *

Danny hadn't told her where they were going despite Clara asking him most of the way to the airport. She'd teased him to the best of her ability but he wasn't breaking – he was good. He'd picked her up early that morning after she'd barely slept last night from excitement and slight nerves. Poor Adrian had dealt with her frequent texts to get his advice on various outfits and thoughts.

As they finally walked in to the airport and towards the check in area Danny finally stopped her.  
"There's no hiding it anymore," he handed over the booking confirmation to her and waited as she read it over.

"Rome?!" Clara looked up, "I've always wanted to go. When I was little my Mum gave me this book and well, I've just always wanted to go. Tom was going to take me but… no, never mind that. This is perfect Danny, absolutely perfect. Thank you," Clara hugged him tight.

"I _may_ have asked Adrian for suggestions. He mentioned you'd always wanted to go, I'm glad I can help. Now come on, let's go get on a plane," he smiled and they made their way to check in.

A few hours later and they'd made it. The flight was straight forward, Danny had bought them wine and it'd been pretty relaxing. When they got to the hotel Danny opened the door and let her go in first. He carried the cases in as she checked out the mini apartment inside.

"This is beautiful," Clara reappeared from the bedroom. "I just have one question…" Danny looked up, "why are there two bedrooms?"

"Well this is all relatively new I didn't know how you'd feel about sharing so I thought the option was there…" Clara rolled her eyes.

"You know I actually quite like you, and I'm pretty sure I can survive a couple of weeks sharing a bed with you," she took his hands and walked closer to him. "You don't get rid of me that easily," she told him and kissed him softly. "Can we explore now? There's a park over the road, the weather's beautiful." Danny gave her a look, "later," Clara told him, winking and grabbing her bag. "Park, now!" she grinned.

"You're like a little child," he chuckled and grabbed the apartment key, following her out.

They walked around aimlessly for a while, just talking and enjoying the sights. Their hands barely separated and neither of them stopped smiling. After an hour or so Clara suddenly realised she was absolutely starving and spotted a foot cart.  
"Gelato?" she asked, pointing at the sign.

"Sounds perfect," Danny replied and they made their way over, ordering one each and guiding her over to the nearby fountains, sitting down on the edge and handing her a pot. They both ate quietly, looking out over the park in front of them. Clara leant her head sideways and rested it on his shoulder as she ate, sighing happily not even noticing the tears falling. "Are you okay?" Danny asked, suddenly concerned. Clara quickly realised what was happening and smiled, wiping her face quickly.

"I haven't been this happy in months," she spoke relatively quietly, putting her empty pot down beside her. "Sorry this probably seems stupid; I just never thought I'd feel like this again. I don't mean to be soppy and weird please feel free to stop me at any moment," she chuckled a little somewhat nervously.

"Don't be silly, I'm just glad I can make you feel that way. You're special, Clara Oswald, really special and I'm going to make sure you never forget that." Danny kissed her head softly and put an arm around her. "This holiday is going to be so wonderful I promise you, just you wait and see," he told her and she believed every word.

She was right to do so; he had the whole thing planned. Every day was full of sight-seeing and exploring coupled with lovely food and the odd drink. They went everywhere; the colosseum, Vatican city, walked along the river, it was all perfect. Many photos were taken, moments of happiness, moments of silliness, all of it recorded. 10 days went quickly, almost too quickly. The last night was upon them and Danny was refusing to tell Clara what he had planned. It'd been really warm that day, the warmest of them all and they'd bailed out of the park around lunchtime to go back to the apartment, spending the afternoon in bed. It had reached about 4 when Danny moved, starting to sit up. Clara groaned, refusing to let go of him.  
"We can't stay here forever," he smiled, brushing her hair back as had become his little thing. "I need to go somewhere. I'm just going to shower and then I'll be back at 6," he told her, smiling reassuringly.

"What am I meant to do for 2 hours?" Clara asked, giving him puppy eyes which had generally worked well so far, but not today.

"Have a bath, relax, and then get yourself ready for a night out. That dress I got you? That'd be perfect. I promise I'll be back at 6," Danny quickly escaped when her grip loosened. "See you soon," he told her and went off to shower.

Clara waited until he'd left before getting up; doing her best to stop him from going but it didn't work. One he had gone she stuck her robe on and grabbed her phone, walking out on to the balcony and phoning Adrian.

"Hello stranger, how have you been?" Adrian asked, "you must be having a wonderful time."

"It's been amazing, I can't believe I'm coming home tomorrow," Clara sighed a little, looking out over the view.

"Doing anything nice for your last night?" he asked.

"I've no idea, Danny's just disappeared off with the promise to be back at 6 so who knows what's happening. I have faith, I think…" she told him.

"I'm sure he has a plan. Shouldn't you be getting ready then?" Adrian replied.

"Yeah I just… I'm scared," Clara finally admitted.

"What is there to be scared of?" He asked, "you've got a lovely man there who clearly thinks the world of you and wants to make you happy, and as far as I can tell you think the same of him."

"Exactly, exactly that. Adrian I think I love him," she almost sighed with relief when she said it. "I never thought I would but I do, how do I deal with that?"

"How did you deal with it last year?"

"I… just did? It just worked out," she admitted.

"So why will this be any different? Don't be scared, I could see it even 2 weeks ago, just admit how you feel and enjoy yourself. This is your future now and you deserve it."

* * *

When Danny returned Clara was stood at the window. She turned around to reveal herself in the silky straight long dress coupled with her straightened hair swept to one side and resting on one shoulder. Danny gasped a little and walked over slowly.

"You look beautiful..." he spoke quietly and stopped a few steps away.

"You look nervous," Clara pointed out, "why exactly?" Danny quickly shook off his expression and smiled.

"Not nervous, just can't believe how I got so lucky..." he trailed off as she took his hands, kissing the top of one.

"Trust me, neither can I. So what's happening here?" Clara asked, finally realising he'd changed since he left the room.

"We're going downstairs, follow me," Danny wasn't giving much away and started to head for the door so Clara picked up her purse and followed him. He wasn't kidding when he said they were going downstairs, because when they got to the reception area they just kept going. She was pretty sure this door had said staff only, but none the less the receptionist had just smiled as they went by.

"Danny what are you up to?" Clara asked again but he didn't reply. After a short walk down a corridor he opened the doors at the end which led outside. He moved aside, letting Clara go out first and when she did she finally understood. They were in a small but beautiful garden filled with various flowers and small fairy lights. There was a water feature in the corner whose lights would change colour occasionally and a wooden structure covering the lot to make it more enclosed and yet still able to see the night sky. "This is... How did you..." Danny stopped her with a gentle kiss.

"I know we've only been together a couple of weeks but I needed to show you what you mean to me," he told her, entwining their fingers as they stood close. He took a small breath before speaking again, "I love you Clara Oswald, you mean everything to me and I never thought it would be possible to fall so hard and fast yet here I am arranging secret garden dates for you and I can't imagine life without you." Clara looked away from the garden and directly at him, her eyes glistening slightly with tears.

"I love you too, and I never thought I'd be able to say that again but I do. Thank you for making me whole again Danny Pink, you've done the impossible," she let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to kiss him deeply. "Don't go home, when we get back please don't go home," Clara leant their foreheads together as she spoke and shut her eyes.

"I'm going nowhere, but right now I'm starving can we sit and eat?" he replied and only then did she spot the food that had appeared on the table. Smiling, she nodded and they made their way over to the table.

After starter and main course Danny got up and whispered something to the waiter who nodded and left, shutting the door to. "I have some things to show you," he told her and sat back down. First he pulled out a piece of paper, sliding it across the table but not taking his hand away just yet. "This is coincidence, I didn't even know until you told me last week," he said with little context and took his hand off so Clara could pick it up. She duly did and started to read.

"This is a job offer... at Coal Hill? Danny I don't understand that position was filled three weeks before the end of term and-" she went to carry on but Danny interrupted her.

"And he couldn't start until September because he had to give notice at his previous job. I know, like I told you - coincidence," he explained and Clara finally put it down.

"So you'll be moving closer?" she asked and Danny nodded.

"That's thing number two. My new place..." he took out his phone and opened a folder of pictures, flicking through and showing her.

"It looks lovely, that garden is beautiful," she smiled.

"I know, you want to live there?" Clara suddenly shot her head up to look at him in shock, "it's got 2 bedrooms so there's no need to-"

"You and your 2 damn bedrooms!" Clara used the previous bit of paper to hit him over the head.

"Is that a yes...?" he asked and Clara turned her serious face back to a smile and nodded. Danny quickly leant over and kissed her. "I have one more thing," he sat back once more and leant in to his jacket pocket. "I can't believe I'm doing this but well... here," he pushed a small box across the table which Clara stared at, her mouth slightly open in shock. "I know it's so quick and I know we still have so much to learn but I just know this is right and," he opened the box up revealing a beautiful silver ring with small diamonds surrounding a sapphire centre, "I'm not saying this year, I'm not saying soon, but Clara Oswald will you marry me?" Danny asked. Clara stood up from the table and he quickly followed although slightly confused as to why. Suddenly she pulled him close, wrapping her arms round his waist and touching their foreheads together.

"Yes, of course I will," she didn't move from that position but Danny leant over slightly to pick up the ring and slid it carefully on to her finger once he'd pulled her arm back from round his waist. They both looked down at her hand with the ring, a perfect fit, between them.

"And I'm never asking you to take this off," he pulled gently on the chain round her neck to reveal her engagement ring from Tom which had been tucked down her dress. "This is always a part of you, a part of us, I'm not asking that to change." Danny held it and her hand joined his.

"And who is meant to be the lucky one in this relationship again?" she asked and chuckled slightly, "3 weeks ago I had no relationship, I didn't even know if I had a future. Here we are now with all these plans, this is all down to you." Clara hugged him and rested her head against his shoulder. The only noise now was the water feature behind them and Danny's heart beat in her ear. They both stood there quietly for a while just taking in the moment. "I should phone Adrian," Clara finally whispered.

"He already knows," Danny replied, "at least he knows I asked, I kinda felt I should go for permission and seeing as I've yet to meet your Dad it was the next best thing." Clara gave a soft chuckle and stood up.

"My Dad doesn't even know you exist yet... I definitely need to fix that. We've drifted a lot since everything happened, I need to sort things out with him," she looked down, clearly nervous about the idea.

"I could come with you?" Danny asked her but Clara shook her head

"No, I need to do this alone. I'll go for dinner on Sunday. He invites me nearly every week anyway; we can talk then," she took a step back, "for now we enjoy our last night and not stress about that. Is it bedtime yet?" Clara asked and kissed his neck teasingly.

"We still have dessert to go," Danny told her although clearly he wasn't complaining much.

"Well in that case we'd better be quick," Clara grinned and sat back down.

* * *

Sunday came fast. They flew home, Clara slept and before she knew it she had driven down to her father's house. Danny was still at her place, having been there since they arrived home and she left him still lying in bed complaining that she was leaving. She knocked on her Dad's door and suddenly realised how nervous she was to see him and her Gran. He opened it and looked almost surprised to see her even though she'd text him the previous day to say she would come. They both stood there for a moment before Clara suddenly hugged him tight. Dave took a moment to respond but slowly put his arms around her.

"I've missed you sweetheart," he told her. Clara knew he had, all the messages and missed calls, her poor father had probably been going through a lot these last 6 months. Clara stood back and finally walked in the house properly, following him in to the living room where her Gran was waiting. Clara hugged her too and didn't miss how tight the return hug was.

"I'm sorry Dad, Gran, I know I've been impossible recently and acting really strange..." Clara sat down on the sofa.

"You've barely spoken to us since the funeral love, you've distanced yourself from everyone we had no idea whether you were okay or even alive at times. When Adrian phoned about the hospital back in May and you wouldn't let us in I..." she looked down at the floor as her Dad spoke.

"You didn't want to see me then, I promise that was for your own good." Clara took a deep breath and looked back up; the sudden silence in the room was incredibly awkward.

"You're looking very tanned love, have you been away?" Trust her Gran to save the moment and change the topic slightly.

"I just got back from Rome yesterday; I was at the airport when I replied to your text actually. I was on camp the first week too so that probably helped the tan a little." Clara was explaining her little adventures to the shock of her family.

"You went away? Who with? Adrian?" Dave asked but Clara shook her head. "Alone? Clara it's dangerous when you're in such a fragile state! Why didn't you tell me?!" She had to resist laughing.

"This is why I'm here Dad. I need to tell you about something, someone, new." Suddenly they both looked interested, her Gran especially so. Clara pulled out her phone and bought up a picture of her and Danny from the last day of camp, showing it to them. She noticed her Dad almost tearing up at how she was smiling in the photo. "We met on camp, I only went as a distraction I couldn't bear being at home and you know how much my job has been keeping me going. I'll be honest we didn't get off to the best start but... well, I think most of it was my fault for being too scared of liking someone else and he got me round eventually." There was no way they needed to find out about her accident right now. "It was him that asked me to go away, he knows everything and wanted me to have some more distraction so um... yeah. This is Danny." Clara bit her lip and looked up at them both. Suddenly her Gran kept up and came over to hug her, laughing in her gorgeous little way. Her Dad joined in as she invited him to and they both seemed so happy.

"Clara this is wonderful, you look so happy for the first time in so long. You've already been away together too! Show us holiday photos?" Clara moved over for her Gran to sit beside her and started flicking through. She'd made it about half way through the album when her hand was suddenly grabbed by her Dad who stared at the ring on her finger for a moment.

"This isn't Tom's ring?" Now they were both looking. Clara used her right hand to pull the necklace from under her top to reveal Tom's ring still safely with her. That's when it really clicked for them both. "Clara you've only known him for 3 weeks are you sure?" Dave asked.

"I haven't been more sure of anything since I said yes to Tom. I was so scared of it all at first, and we won't rush in to anything else but I really love him Dad, and he understands me so well," his face was still flat and she nervously waited for a response.

"Clara this is amazing, really wonderful," he smiled, "good ring choice too. So when do we get to meet him?"

"Soon Dad, I promise, but can we eat now because I'm honestly starving," she smiled and stood up to go and help him with dinner. Things were finally getting back to normal.


	11. Chapter 11

They moved in to their new place the following week as Danny had always been planning for himself. The time frame allowed Clara to take her time to move her stuff over which meant once Danny's belongings were in; the rest of moving day was essentially spent lying on their new sofa with the TV on. Clara's head rested on Danny's chest as they held hands and relaxed. She groaned as her phone started ringing and she had to lean over to fetch it, suddenly going to sit up but he held her in place.

"Relax, you told me everything went well with your Dad so there's nothing to be afraid of," he kissed her head softly before she answered the phone with a smile on her face.

"Hi Dad, is everything okay?" Clara pushed Danny's hand away as he started wandering his fingers up her side making her squirm.

"Oh yeah it's fine, I've just had about ten phone calls from your Gran asking about this chap of yours and when we will get to meet him," Danny had moved himself close so he could hear and his reaction to being called her chap nearly made her fall off the sofa, letting out a small squeal. "You alright?" Dave asked.

"Yes, yeah sorry just not paying attention to where I'm walking," she replied.

 _"Liar,"_ Danny whispered in her ear teasingly and she grinned. _"Invite them over for dinner,"_ he added much to her surprise. Clara turned her head to make sure he was serious and he smiled.

"How do you fancy dinner tonight?" Clara asked him before adding "at our place."

"Your... you've moved in? I thought you weren't moving fast!" Her Dad sounded shocked, but not really upset.

"Danny moved in to the area and it's a gorgeous house Dad, I promise you'll understand when you see it. I'll text you the address, bring Gran, say 5?" she was checking everything with Danny as she spoke. "Love you Dad, see you later," she hung up once he'd agreed and text him the address before smiling and putting her phone down. "Danny we need to organise dinner in the next 3 hours..."

"Don't worry, I've got it all covered. You relax here, I'm gonna nip to the shops," he stood up and grabbed the car keys and his wallet from the table before opening the door. "Oh hello there," Danny smiled as he opened the door, "Clara! Visitor!" he called, "come on in, I won't be long then I'll say a proper hello." He ran out, shutting the door just as Clara appeared in the hall to see Adrian stood there looking slightly bemused. She hugged him, smiling as he spun her round a little.

"Come on, let me see it then!" Adrian grabbed her hand and looked at the ring, "it's beautiful Clara," he told her before playfully hitting her over the head.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Clara asked, rubbing at her head although it didn't really hurt.

"Being home for over a week and not even inviting me to see the ring, honestly some best friend you are," he grinned and they both laughed as Clara lead him through in to the lounge. "This place is beautiful by the way; I'd kill to live in this area."

"Sorry this last week has been crazy what with my Dad and Gran and trying to organise the move, I meant to ring you but I've been so tired. We were meant to just be relaxing this afternoon but now my Dad is coming round for dinner I'm in for a night of questioning," she sighed and slumped down in the sofa. "Sorry, I've not even offered you tea,"

"It's alright I take the hint, I'll go investigate your kitchen," Adrian rolled his eyes and Clara smirked at him as he walked off, grabbing the TV remote and flicking it off, picking up her laptop from the table instead. She sat with her feet up and started flicking through her lesson plans. "A lot to catch up on?" Adrian asked as he stood in the doorway while the kettle boiled.

"I've just opened my emails, it's not pretty," she sighed, "tell me I did the right thing taking the promotion?" he walked over and sat on the arm of the sofa.

"You definitely did, you'll be amazing, especially now you're back to yourself. Everybody knows this summer is going to be difficult for you, don't worry about taking your time replying to things. Just prioritise the emails, and if you need a hand with anything then let me know – it is officially your job to boss me around now after all," Adrian grinned and went back to make the tea. Clara started working through the emails and replying to the more important ones. She knew there was a lot of work and planning to be done but thankfully she'd done an awful lot before the holidays had begun. Adrian reappeared with tea and put the mug down on the table beside her, joining her on the sofa.

"You told him about your job yet?" he asked and Clara stopped typing, "didn't think so, you should be proud of this not hiding it, I bet you haven't told your Dad either." He knew her too well. Clara sighed and shook her head before leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder. "You always used to tell Tom these things first, I know, but that habit needs to change now. I know I've been here for you and that's never going to change, but you need to be open and honest with Danny and your Dad if this is going to work out and that includes the good as well as the bad." Adrian moved to put an arm around her. "You're my best friend and I'll never stop caring about you but I want to see you running to Danny now," he hugged her gently and then sat her up.

"What did I miss?" Clara smiled when Danny seemed to appear on cue and jumped up to see him, putting her laptop down. "Are you really working already?"

"New heads of department are busy people," Clara looked round at Adrian and glared at him for what he said but he just smiled and sipped his tea.

"You never said?" Danny put the bag down and threw the keys on the side.

"It was confirmed about 2 days before you flew out," Adrian added and Clara threw the nearest cushion at him. "Alright alright but someone had to tell the poor bloke." He finally stood up and turned around to face them, walking over and shaking Danny's hand. "We spoke on the phone? I'm Adrian, loyal best friend and all round protector. Be warned." Clara looked up at Danny's face as he suddenly looked a little scared and she couldn't help but laugh and then kicked Adrian.

"Don't scare him! Take that through to the kitchen would you please?" Clara pointed to the bag and looked at Adrian who took the hint and picked it up. "I'm sorry about him, he does actually quite like you believe it or not, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the promotion I'm actually pretty rubbish at sharing good news," she told him.

"Well don't be, tell me everything and anything because I want to celebrate with you. That's how this all works now missy," Danny kissed her gently, "and we will celebrate later but for now I have some cooking to do. Adrian can stay if you like?"

"Best not, my Gran doesn't like him much… that's a story for another day though, but you get going I'll come help once I've said goodbye," she told him and gave him another quick kiss before going to collect Adrian.

"So why doesn't your Gran like your best friend then?" Danny asked as Clara joined him in the kitchen after saying goodbye to Adrian. "Seems a little odd, he's been very good to you."

"She's convinced he just wants to jump in to bed with me, can't get her head around the fact we're just friends. I gave up trying to explain, trust me it's not worth it. So what are you cooking?" Clara asked and stood by the stove, leaning against the side.

"You'll find out, why don't you go and put your feet up for an hour before they arrive?" Danny asked and smiled, leaning over and kissing her cheek.

"Mmm tempting, but I'd better look over some of those emails, might bring my laptop in here if that's okay?" Danny nodded, "I am sorry I didn't tell you about the promotion, honestly," she called back as she collected her laptop.

"It's fine I get it, I'm just really pleased for you. How're you coping with the extra work so far?" He asked as she settled at the table in the kitchen.

"Mmmm it's okay, I've not had much chance to look at it to be fair, but nothing I can't sort out. How's your prep going?" Clara typed another email reply, glancing over to see Danny chopping onions and smirked a little at him attempting to hold back tears.

"Good, it's a nice class set I've got I'm quite enjoying lesson planning," Clara stood up from her seat and grabbed a tissue, dabbing at his eyes, "yeah alright cheeky." She laughed at his response.

"So who have you got then?" Clara asked him as she returned to her chair. Danny quickly followed, logging in to his emails to bring up his class list so she could scan through. "You're right, pretty good bunch. Watch out for those year 11s though, they'll be a fun bunch, half of them are in my tutor," she laughed, scrolling down the list.

"You saying you can't control your pupils?" He laughed, chucking everything in the frying pan.

"If you weren't cooking I'd throw something at you right now, cheeky sod!" she rolled her eyes, shutting his email down and going back to her own. "My Dad just text, they're on the way," she commented as her phone vibrated on the table beside her.

"You could sound happier…?" Danny commented, looking around at her but Clara was still focussed on her laptop.

"Sorry, I guess I'm a little nervous," she smiled nervously. Danny left the dinner in a good place and walked over, shutting her laptop down.

"That's not going to be helping. Go get yourself ready, it'll be fine! We'll spend tomorrow working on the sofa," Clara stood up, grinning and kissing him softly, "you sure about that?"

"Yes, absolutely certain," Danny laughed and pushed her towards the kitchen door. Clara rolled her eyes and chuckled softly as she made her way upstairs.

Danny opened the door before Dave had even knocked. Dinner was now in the oven, ready to be served when they were all sorted.  
"You must be Mr Oswald," he held out a hand which Dave kindly shook, "I've heard lots about you."

"Danny, lovely to meet you finally, this is Clara's Gran, Mary, and my wife Linda," he managed to hide a look of confusion about Linda and allowed them all in.

"I'll just go and fetch Clara, feel free to investigate the living room," Danny told them, jogging upstairs to find Clara with clothes all over the bed sat in the middle. "Clara they're… what on earth?" he asked as he walked in the room.

"She came didn't she?" Clara asked, obviously meaning Linda. Something wasn't right here; Danny could tell this was stressing her out so she sat down beside her once he'd moved a couple of dresses away.

"Linda? Yes, she seems nice?" The look he received told him he was wrong, "it can't be that bad?"

"It can be, that woman hates me, she's hated anyone I've ever dated and makes it her aim in life to make me feel as bad as possible. I can't do anything right in Linda's eyes and yet my Dad just doesn't see what she's doing," Clara leant over to rest in to him, sighing. "I love my Dad and my Gran so much; I was really hoping she wouldn't come…"

"Well you know what we're gonna do? We're going to go down there, show her how happy we are, enjoy your time with your Dad and your Gran and ignore any comments she makes. You're going to wear that gorgeous dress you wore last Friday and I'm going to go and play the good host. I'll see you in a few minutes?" He checked she was okay with that and then kissed her gently before standing up, heading back downstairs. As he made his way back to the living room, Danny paused in the hall and listened to the ongoing conversation.

"Don't you think it's very early for them to be living together?" Linda spoke harshly; maybe he could begin to see where Clara was coming from.

"Maybe, but she seems happier than she has done in months Linda, this could be good for her, I never thought I'd get to see that smile on her face again." Dave sounded sincere; he clearly worried about his daughter.

"Have you ever thought that this could end in heartbreak?" Danny nearly walked in then but held off.

"Maybe it could, but maybe it won't and just maybe you could be happy for the girl?" That must have been her Gran's voice – the voice of reason. It was then that Danny decided to walk in pretending to be oblivious.

"Can I get anyone a drink? We have tea, coffee, wine, beer, the usual really?" Danny asked, ignoring Linda's studying look.

"We'll both have a red wine if you don't mind, Mum?" Dave looked over to Mary who responded for herself.

"Oh just a coffee for me dear, best not get on the alcohol too early. Let me help you," she said determinedly and followed Danny in before he could protest, shutting the door behind her. "I'm sorry about Linda, she can be a little forward," before Danny could open his mouth she added, "I saw you outside the room, I know you heard. Like Dave said, Clara seems happier than we've seen her in an awful long time and that's all down to you as far as I can see. I for one can certainly see why she likes you," she spoke a little flirtatiously towards the end.

"Gran!" Clara had obviously arrived at some point during that but neither of them were too sure when, didn't stop Mary from laughing and walking over to hug her. "How're you doing?"

"Wonderful thank you, especially seeing you back to yourself. Let me take those drinks out," Mary turned to Danny and held her hands out for the wine glasses, taking them through.

"I'm so sorry," Clara smiled a little awkwardly. "Unlike Linda, my Gran has a habit of loving anybody I bring home. I'll warn you now; she just wants a great grandchild…" Clara laughed and took her glass from him before walking out to join them in the living room.

"So tell us more, all you said before is that you met at the camp and now you're engaged?" Dave sounded a little confused.

"That is basically the long and the short of it," Clara told them, but he looked less than happy about her answer. "Okay, so we didn't get off to the best start if I'm honest, for the first few days I was… less than friendly. We got there though," she started explaining.

"It was probably the most cliché start of a relationship ever actually. Summer camp, man saves woman from impending death, we couldn't have got more chick flick if we tried," Danny laughed, but Clara cringed. "Ah… hadn't mentioned the impending death?" She shook her head, "I'll go and get dinner served." Clara nodded and he backed in to the kitchen.

"It's fine Dad, I'm fine honestly. Just a little accident, ended up in the raft water, there was a rock in the way and my head made contact but I'm here and I'm fine. He really did save me though, although I had already realised I'd been a bit of an idiot by then. To be honest he might not know it, but he's saved me from much worse…" she tailed off, realising what she was almost admitting to them.

"There's no need to play the depressed widow card, you've got yourself a new man now get over it," Linda told her, but Danny walked back in to the room as she spoke and was quick to get on her.

"Are you joking? Considering who your husband is I should think you'd know better than to say that. Clara told me everything that happened with Tom, and it does still affect her. I'm not going to stop her from being upset, I can't change the past, but I can help the future and I have every intention of doing so. You may not have noticed how low she's been, but I can see how much it's affected her and I can't let you speak to her like that!" Clara stood up and walked over, stopping him there.

"Excuse me, what right do you have in this conversation? You only met Clara a few weeks ago and you think you're some kind of expert?! She's spent months wallowing she just needs to get over it!" Danny looked over at Dave who clearly wasn't going to say anything. He took a step forward but Clara was already there.

"Danny knows me better than you ever have! You've not helped one but since I lost Tom, you think it's that easy?" She faced up to her, feeling the anger build as she turned to her Dad, "and you've not said a bloody word?! Don't you see it? Don't you see what she's been doing, how much her attitude has affected me? Remember that night I left yours and ended up in hospital? When you picked me up the next day I told you I'd fainted because I hadn't eaten?" Dave nodded, a little in shock at her sudden turn of emotion. "I lied. I came home that night and I opened a bottle of vodka and a packet of painkillers and I didn't stop. If Adrian hadn't come round unexpectedly that night you'd have been going to the hospital for a whole different reason. Before you ask, I couldn't tell you because of her, because I didn't want to upset you, how stupid was I to care about that?!"

"Clara I…" Dave started to reply but she shook her head.

"Just go, get out, take your precious wife with you and enjoy your happy life! I've got mine right here and if you can't accept that then fine, let her continue to control you and enjoy your dreamy little world!" Clara screamed, trying to keep as composed as she could.

"I'm not going anywhere when we're like this," Dave replied, not shouting, just sounding concerned but Clara couldn't take anymore of Linda's glaring.

"Fine, I'll go then!" Clara held her arms up and backed off a few steps before grabbing her jacket from the chair and storming out of the house.

The rest of them stood there in a stunned silence as she left, Danny was still trying to get his head around what she'd admitted as were Dave and Mary, Linda just seemed to look fed up. Danny grabbed his phone, immediately texting her to ask where she was going.  
"I hope you're happy," he looked up to Linda and Dave. "I suggest you leave now, I'm going to go and find your daughter and fix your mess. Do you know how nervous she was for this, how much she wanted you to accept us and understand us? Your daughter talks about her Dad so fondly; I really thought you'd be better than this." Danny told Dave truthfully. He didn't reply, just turned to Linda who picked up her bag from the floor and they started to head towards the door.

"Mum?" Dave looked back at Mary.

"I'm not going anywhere until I know she's safe. You should be ashamed of yourself," she replied and he accepted that.

"Please let me know she's alright," Dave looked to Danny who rolled his eyes. "She's my daughter."

"You remind yourself of that," Danny replied before they left. "Would you mind staying here in case she comes back?" He looked around to Mary who nodded, "it's okay, I understand why you didn't get involved and I'm sure Clara does too."

Danny ran out of the house and jumped in to his car having instructed Mary to help herself to the dinner. The biggest problem he had now was that Clara could be anywhere. This area was new to him and even she didn't know the local village that well, he had no idea where she might go. Her phone had been turned off leaving him no option but to drive and hope. You'd have thought she couldn't have got far, but he also knew how fast she could run if she wanted to. This was going to be an almost impossible task.

After a good hour of searching and a phone call or two to Mary to make sure Clara hadn't turned up at home Danny finally had a brainwave and turned around, driving towards the one place she definitely knew how to get to. When he arrived at Coal Hill he noted the one light on and sighed a little with relief - she was definitely inside. Danny parked up in the road and walked over to the caretaker's house - Clara had taken him a couple of days ago to ask him to let her in - evidently it wasn't the first time she'd done so.

"I was hoping you might turn up," Danny didn't even get to explain as he opened the door, keys already in hand. "You know I've been letting Clara in at all hours for months now since she lost her fella and when I saw you both the other day I knew something was different. Today though... What's happened?" He asked as he pulled the door shut behind him and walked over the road to the gate, "I never lock the door while she's inside so you should be fine from here. I hope everything is alright."

"It will be, at least I hope it will..." Danny decided not to provide much explanation and walked through, heading inside. It took him a moment to remember where he needed to go, but eventually he found the English corridor and the correct classroom. Clara was sat at her desk typing away as he walked in.

"Some people eat, some people go shopping, but Clara Oswald comes to work when she's stressed," he leant against the doorframe. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"You'd think I'd be used to it by now, I just can't stand it anymore, you deserve better..." Clara sat back and he could now see how red her eyes were. Danny walked over and she immediately stood up to hug him, starting to sob in to him again.

"Don't say that, you're the one that deserves to be treated better by your family. I can't believe the way Linda spoke to you, your Dad wasn't much better. They've gone now, it's just your Gran left at the house and she's very worried about you," he kissed her head softly.

"Can we stay here? Just for a bit? Call Gran and tell her I'm okay but I know nobody will disturb us here, it's why I like it," she explained and separated from him as he pulled his phone out.

"I'll be 2 minutes, but we can't be long I'll have to drive your Gran home," Danny walked out to make the call. He returned a few minutes later and sat down on her chair, pulling her down to sit on his lap. "She told me to give you a hug from her and take as long as you need," Clara nodded, leaning back in to him. Danny glanced over to her laptop and the lesson plan she had going. "Jane Austen huh?"

"Wonderful woman, fabulous author, my favourite lessons to teach. I've lost count of the number of times I've read Pride and Prejudice but I never get bored of it," Clara reached forward and opened her desk drawer, pulling a copy out that looked rather read. "My Mum bought me this copy, I was far too young to read it at the time but as soon as I could I did. I guess it's my lucky charm now, full of hundreds of notes as I studied it over the years but still just as special." Danny carefully took it from her, flicking through the pages gently. She wasn't joking; the book was full of hard thought out notes and there was something of a beauty about it. He let himself read the first couple of paragraphs which Clara clearly noticed. "You can borrow it if you like?"

Danny suddenly looked up, "oh gosh no I couldn't, I'll get my own copy," he told her, going to hand it back but she shook her head.

"No really, I know you'll look after it," she smiled and kissed his cheek gently. "Plus you get to learn all about it as you read – what a bonus!" Danny rolled his eyes and Clara laughed.

"That's more like it." Danny put the book down on the desk and linked his hands in front of her as his arms rested round her waist. "Let's go home love, as much as this is very nice bed will be a lot more comfortable," Danny whispered as he rested his chin almost weightlessly on her shoulder.

"You're probably right… but I am kinda starving so maybe food and telly first?" Danny chuckled and nodded, following Clara up and heading home.


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm enjoying writing this on the side of Earthly Wonders, it's nice to have something different.**

The first morning at work came faster than expected. The rest of the holidays were spent mostly working on the sofa or at least trying to – they were both easily distracted. Clara had woken early, putting some finishing touches to her lesson plans and glancing over at Danny as he slept peacefully. It was around 6 when he started to wake. Clara put her laptop to one side and slipped back down to lie beside him, kissing him gently.

"Good morning sleepyhead," she spoke quietly and laughed as she pulled her on top of him. "Cheeky, we need to get up!"

"Mmm just a few minutes," he kissed her softly, wrapping his arms around her. "You're beautiful you know that?"

"Flattery will get you everywhere, but I have a staff meeting in exactly an hour and 54 minutes," she grinned and pushed herself off him to climb out of bed.

"It takes a grand total of 6 minutes to get to work, why on earth do you need to be up already?" Danny asked, putting on an upset face and turning on his side to look at her.

"I have a lot to organise, I want to get in early," she told him, "I love you, but I have to go shower." Danny grabbed her pillow and threw it at her. "You're such a child sometimes you know that?" Clara chuckled and threw it back before disappearing in to the bathroom.

They drove in separately, deciding that Danny should be allowed to make his own impression. He walked in while she was making tea and they smiled briefly at each other before breaking eye contact – pretending not to know each other was going to be more difficult than they'd imagined.

"Danny it's lovely to have you with us," George Harrod was the head of maths and Clara and he rarely got on. "Looks like Miss Oswald has the kettle going I'm sure she'll make us a couple of coffees with her impressive new skills," he directed towards her and she gave him a slightly sarcastic smile back, grabbing a couple more mugs.

"You don't appear to get on?" Danny asked George, "something I should know about her?" Clara had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing, sorting herself out before going over with their coffees.

"Oh don't worry…" Clara started, looking to him for his name given that she wasn't mean to know it.

"Danny, Danny Pink, new maths teacher," she raised her eyebrows, "yes alright I've heard all the name jokes before."

"Well Mr Pink, don't worry, I tend to keep a good distance from the maths department. I'll leave you both to it," she grabbed her tea quickly before disappearing off to her meeting.

By the time the rest of the staff appeared in her room Clara was completely organised for her lesson which made her a little more relaxed. Adrian arrived first which she had fully expected, questioning her on Danny but she quickly shut him up when more staff arrived – he knew the plan. Everyone sat down and she went through the serious stuff before going for the catch up began.

"I hope you don't mind me saying, you seem much happier this term Clara," Harry commented and she smiled a little at him.

"Thanks Harry, I've had a very relaxing summer as I hope you all have. New year new start and all that," she stood up.

"Hey has anyone seen the new maths teacher?" Helen asked, looking at Beth and Clara, "he's kinda hot," she grinned.

"Can't say I noticed," Clara shrugged and moved her chair back behind the desk. "Probably married for all we know anyway," she started moving papers on her desk awkwardly.

"Oh gosh I didn't think he must be in Tom's room I'm sorry Clara," she apologised and Clara looked down, it was something she'd been trying to keep out of her mind. There was an awkward silence in the room but she quickly shook her head and looked up.

"Don't worry about it, it's been 8 months – we all have to move on. Speaking of which, time to get going if we want to be ready for an invasion of teenagers in the next 10 minutes," she sat down and started getting the register up on her laptop, ignoring the slightly sympathetic looks she was getting from them all now. "Have a good day, you know where I am if you need anything," she told them as they left. Once everyone was gone she finally pulled out her phone to see the text she'd felt come in a few minutes ago, smiling at Danny's name on the screen.

 _'How'd your first meeting go then boss? Xx'_

 _'Oh it was alright, you've certainly caused a stir among the female members of my staff ;) xx'_ Clara replied, relaxing back now she was prepared.

 _'Should I be scared?'_ Danny text back quite quickly.

 _'Only of me, I can be incredibly protective.'_

 _'Well I look forward to seeing that, but for now I must resist. Meet at the park at lunch?'_ he replied just as the bell went so Clara had to text fast.

 _'See you there x'_ she quickly threw her phone in to the drawer as the door opened and her year 8 tutor group all ran in.

The morning was eventful, but everything went to plan and she was very grateful for her detailed lesson plans given that her mind was otherwise rather all over the place. There was talk all over the place about 'the new maths teacher', especially from her year 11 girls and it was difficult for her to keep a straight face during the conversations. Break time she stayed out of the way, not really sure what to do with herself given there was currently a lack of marking, but it was easier than the bustle of the staffroom which still seemed a little daunting. Thankfully lunchtime finally arrived and Clara grabbed her bag to go, only stopped by Adrian appearing at the door and raising his eyebrows.

"Someone's keen," he grinned, "you know Danny is the talk of the school don't you?"

"Yeah I had noticed, thankfully he's already mine," Clara smirked and moved by him to leave her room, "if anyone asks I'm meeting my Dad. See you later," she slipped away and made it to the park where Danny was already sat on a bench waiting for her. As soon as she reached him and sat down they kissed each other gently and Clara sighed with relief. "This morning has been absolute torture, everyone's talking about you and I have to act completely oblivious it's a nightmare. I also kind of miss wearing my ring…" she leant her head on his shoulder.

"I know love, but thank you for doing this it's been good to get to know everyone," he kissed her head softly, "I love you so much," Danny kissed her head. "How are you doing being back?"

"Oh not so bad, the sympathetic looks are slowly lessening, it's getting easier. Knowing you're here is so helpful you have no idea," she smiled and kissed him. "I guess we should find food?"

"Already on it," Danny reached down and picked a bag up from the floor with sandwiches in. "Is this okay? I feel like I'm still learning your favourites."

"You're doing a fabulous job," Clara took the packet from him and opened it, "you don't think we're moving too fast do you?" Her mind had been running wild all morning, thought of Tom and her family as well as wondering how everyone might react when the news broke.

"Of course not, you know this engagement can be as long as we need it to be, there's no rush. I know it's quick, but you're beautiful and I love you and I do want everyone to know that." He smiled and kissed her once more, "I do love doing that."

"Mmm me too, but we should wait. You need to settle in first and if I'm honest, I could do without all the questions that are bound to spring from the news," Danny nodded, taking another bite of his sandwich, "I also secretly quite like all the secrecy."

"Fair enough, we'll go for the naughty teenager act," he chuckled and Clara raised her eyebrows but didn't reply.

Lunch ended before they were ready and they ended up practically running back, chuckling as they separated around the corner from school and she legged it to make it in time for her lesson, getting to her room just as the bell went and throwing her bag down.

Thankfully nobody seemed to notice her slight lack of breathe and general tiredness and the rest of the afternoon went smoothly. At the end of the day Clara stayed back, tidying her room as the corridors quickly quietened, leaving only staff in the area. She was organising books in the cupboard when the door shut behind her and she spun around to see Danny standing there, grinning.

"Cheeky sod, you made me jump," he laughed at her reaction and hugged her.

"I am sorry, you look knackered are you alright?" Clara took a step back and gave him a shocked look.

"Way to make a girl feel better Mr Pink, I'm fine thank you. How was your first day?" Clara asked, returning to finish sorting out her textbooks.

"Wonderful, it's a brilliant school, everyone has been so welcoming and the kids weren't too bad either actually. I missed you though," he gently spun her around and kissed her, "I mean I've pretty much seen you every day for almost 6 weeks, it's hard," Clara nodded and kissed him again, a little deeper.

"In the cupboard, what were we saying about naughty teenagers?" she chuckled between kisses, slipping her arms around him. They stayed like that for a minute or so before jumping back when the door opened.

"I had a feeling you'd be in here," Adrian smirked at their shocked faces, "Clara Oswald you do surprise me."

"Adrian you nearly gave me a heart attack don't do that!" She gently hit him, sighing a little as she calmed her breathing.

"You should probably be a little more subtle if you want to hide this from the whole school, but it was rather amusing seeing you both jump back so thanks for that entertainment. You coming to the pub tonight?" Adrian asked, Clara sighed. "Come on, you haven't been out with everyone in ages they'll love to see you there."

"I've been invited too you know," Danny told her, "I was going to speak to you."

"Mmm I suppose I should show my face. Alright I'll give you a lift Adrian, meet me out front in 10?" he nodded and left, getting the message. "Can we progress to friends tonight? I'm not sure I can stand ignoring you all evening," she smiled and kissed him.

"We probably can't do this though…" he returned the favour, holding her close.

"That's slightly disappointing," she chuckled softly.

"I still need to tidy up, fancy giving me a quick hand?" he asked and Clara quickly stopped, shaking her head.

"I need to meet Adrian, I'll see you there?" she pulled back and opened the door to the cupboard, walking out and grabbing her bag before heading off, leaving a very confused Danny behind.

When Danny arrived in the pub Clara was sat between Adrian and a woman he vaguely recalled worked with her – maybe Beth? She'd definitely flirted with him in the staffroom earlier, much to his own amusement.  
"Oh come on there must be something that's cheered you up, have you met someone?" Beth was asking Clara who rolled her eyes. Danny watched for a moment before being tapped on the shoulder by another maths teacher, Paul, who offered him a drink and then joined the others at the table conveniently opposite Beth and Clara who was currently trying to change the conversation from her mysterious summer.

"Danny this is half of our slightly odd English department. Clara just made head of department, still not too important to come for a drink it seems" Paul pointed toward her, "have you met?" Clara broke out of her conversation and looked around.

"You made coffee this morning right?" Danny asked and she had to stop herself from laughing, "I never got a chance to thank you." Damn he was making this difficult.

"Oh it's alright; I just needed to get out of there, I'm afraid George and I are not the best of friends. How'd your first day go then?" She asked, sipping at her drink.

"Oh not bad, staff are pretty decent, kids are enthusiastic. You enjoying being HoD?" Danny asked. Beth leant to one side, whispering something to Helen.

"Bossing this lot about? Yeah it's fabulous. I can do things like…" she turned to face Beth, "ask what these two are talking about behind my back?" they both suddenly looked shocked and a little embarrassed, denying all knowledge. "Mhm sure, come on let's discuss this while we get another round in," she rolled her eyes and stood up, going over with them. "So?"

"Oh it's nothing, he just seems lovely and… well, definitely hot. Didn't seem to be down for the flirting earlier though, maybe after a drink," Beth chuckled and started picking up the drinks.

"I think she's a little jealous he's paying attention to you," Helen told her.

"Yeah well, that's hardly my first thought right now. I'm finally getting back in to the swing of things, I'll start with work and take it from there. Can you grab the last few glasses?" Clara asked and walked over, sitting back down. "Mr Pink, quick question on behalf of my colleagues – single? Married? Girlfriend? … boyfriend?" she asked, ignoring Beth's glares.

"Oh you know, just focussing on work," Danny replied vaguely, "what about you?" Clara winced a little, knowing the question was necessary but still a little painful. Everyone else had gone silent at the question, but she saw a little opportunity and stood up, walking away to go outside. "Did I say something wrong…?" he asked.

"Uh, Clara's fiancé died 8 months ago. You're technically his replacement…" Paul explained to him. "Up until the summer she was barely speaking to anyone, it's been good to see her smile."

"I do hope I haven't messed that up… best go and apologise," he stood up, "won't be long." Danny made his way out, finding Clara stood outside staring in to the distance. He put a hand on her shoulder but she shook her head. "I'm sorry; I just thought it would be the normal thing to ask given that situation, I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I didn't realise that I was teaching in his room." Clara turned around, looking at him and wiping her eyes a little.

"I didn't want you to know, I thought it would pass over and I'd be okay with it, but I haven't been in there since that day." Clara sighed and touched his hand subtly. "It's not your fault, honestly. I've been getting questions all day about why I'm so much happier and it's been driving me just a little mad." Danny took her hand and squeezed it gently.

"Go home, I'll make my excuses in about 20 minutes and follow you. Order something good in for dinner and we'll relax on the sofa – sounds much more appealing than this right now." Clara nodded and looked around quickly before kissing him. "I love you Clara Oswald, now disappear before someone catches us," he winked and let go of her, disappearing inside.

"Is she okay?" Beth asked, looking genuinely concerned although getting rather close to him in the process.

"She's gone home I think, I said my peace. Adrian you're friends with her right?" he looked over there and he nodded, "she might need a friend."

"On it, thanks, I'll see you all later," he announced before disappearing. Danny quickly pulled out his phone to thank Adrian for covering before sitting back down for a few minutes.

Clara decided to cook instead of ordering to take her mind off things, quickly putting a meal together and sticking it in the oven, jumping a little when the door knocked. She jogged over, looking through the peep hole and rolling her eyes, opening it and leaving it for Adrian to come in before going back to the kitchen.

"Danny won't be long, thought I'd check up on you?" Adrian shut the door and followed her through. "Can't have been easy for you today, you don't have to pretend to me," he forced her to take a seat.

"I love Danny, a lot, but he asked me to go and help him tidy his room and I ran. It's still there, still raw. I feel bad for getting upset about it." Adrian shook his head and hugged her quickly.

"You are fully entitled to be upset and Danny understands that as much as any of us do. We all care and worry about you and it's still very soon after. Are you sure you're doing the right thing hiding this from everyone?" he asked.

"Yes, believe it or not I'm kind of enjoying all the secrecy. I know it's all a little weird and goodness knows what everyone will say when all is revealed but right now I'm just happy in my own little world at home, it keeps all my problems in one place," she smiled and looked up to him. "You're a pretty damn good friend you know that?" Clara told him.

"Well I'm glad you think so, I do try. Just don't let yourself get overwhelmed Clara, promise me?" Adrian's face was one of concern and Clara knew what he was talking about.

"I won't I promise, I've got everyone I need around me, anyone else is purely a bonus," she jumped down from the stool and went over to the oven. "You staying?" Clara asked as the front door opened and Danny arrived back. She opened the oven briefly to check on dinner before shutting it again.

"I think I'd better leave you two to it," he winked, "have a good night. Bye Danny," he added before leaving. Danny walked over, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"Beth bought me another drink you know, and gave me her number," he chuckled, kissing her neck.

"Well aren't you the lucky one, she's a very lovely girl," Clara grinned, moving to look up at him.

"I'm sure, but I think I'll stick with you," he smiled and they kissed gently. "I love you, but I am absolutely starving…" she chuckled against his lips as he winged. "What, I am?"

"They do say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Go on, crack open the wine I'll bring dinner out in a few minutes," she pushed him back and laughed as he walked out.

Once dinner was finished they both kicked back with wine and the TV on. Clara lay against him, sighing gently. She hadn't stopped thinking about what happened, hard as she tried, it was still playing on her mind. Danny knew it too, he'd been keeping a close eye on her and barely letting her go to the loo alone, not that she really minded today.  
"Danny?" she broke the silence that had fallen for a little while. He looked away from the TV to her. "Thank you for being here," she told him, "thank you for making me myself again, I owe you so much," Danny laughed. "What?!"

"You have no idea what you've done for me; you owe me nothing Clara Oswald." Danny kissed her head softly, "I'm shattered. Bed?" She nodded and they both stood up, heading up – together.


	13. Chapter 13

**Writing this chapter was great fun, well, excluding maybe the first quarter. Enjoy!**

Time went by faster than they could hope for, the term was well underway and Danny was very much part of the team now. They'd gotten good at hiding their relationship, sneaking the odd moment in private but generally just keeping their distance during the working day. After work drinks were a fairly frequent occurrence still and both of them couldn't help but be amused at Beth's continual attempts to seduce Danny. Something, however, was different this week. Clara noticed he seemed more subdued at work, less sociable. At home he seemed quieter and kept making excuses to stay up late, saying he had marking to do or lessons to plan, but he'd been coping until now.

It was a Friday evening and the little group all headed over to the pub after work, getting the first round in and discussing the mishaps of the working week. She hadn't noticed, not straight away, they'd got used to avoiding glances with each other – it was only when Beth perked up that she saw.  
"Hey where's Danny tonight, he's usually here."

"He didn't really say he was coming, not that he's said much all week," Paul replied, "seems a little off colour." Clara bit her lip a little and pulled her phone out, but there were no messages.

"I'll be back in a sec, just going to the ladies," she put on a smile and left, stepping outside once nobody was watching and dialled his number. There was no reply. "Danny what's going on?" she sighed and looked back at the pub, shaking her head and walking back towards the school.

As she expected, his car was still there when she got back and it didn't take long to track him down, but when she got there Clara had to pause. He was in his classroom, the room she still hadn't stepped in since Tom died. Shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath she opened the door, walking in.  
"Everyone's missing you," she told him, keeping away from the centre of the room.

"Sorry, things to do. I'll meet you at home don't worry, go have fun." Clara sighed and shut the door behind her.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on," she folded her arms and gave him a look.

"Clara I'm fine, honestly, just getting in to the swing of it all still. I really want to get this finished before the weekend, go back to the pub before they start asking questions," he smiled and then looked back to his laptop. Clara was less than convinced, but decided there was no point arguing any further.

"Alright, but this isn't over," she sighed and backed away, still avoiding looking at back in to the room, "you're keeping something from me." With that, she left, making her way back.

Clara didn't stay long at the pub after, making some excuse about needing to make a phone call to explain her rather long trip to the loos. Adrian had taken her aside to ask how Danny was but she couldn't really give him much of an answer and after a while of being distracted in conversation she made more excuses and left. There was no sign of Danny when she arrived home and her stomach was complaining so she had to give in and make dinner, leaving some for him to heat up when he got back. She sat in front of the TV, only vaguely paying attention to it while she started reading over some essays. Time seemed to go by slowly and eventually Clara had to give up working when it became obvious she wasn't going to get anything done being so worried about Danny.

It was nearing 11pm when the door finally opened. Clara had her knees up to her chest as she sat on the sofa, jumping up when he walked in. Danny dropped his bag and went over to her, quickly examining her face.  
"You've been crying," he told her, rubbing her cheek gently.

"So have you," she replied, pulling away from his touch, "are you going to talk now?" Danny looked around a little awkwardly at the floor and Clara sighed. "I'm going to bed I'm shattered, there's dinner on the side you can heat up if you're hungry." She kissed him quickly on the cheek before going upstairs to bed.

The next thing she knew there was a scream. Clara sat up quickly and tried to work out where it was coming from. Danny wasn't in the bed beside her and she quickly jumped up and followed the noise to the spare room. He was asleep, but he was writhing about in the bed. Clara didn't know what to do, it took a moment to process what was going on. After a few seconds she jumped on the bed and wrapped her arms around him, ignoring the slight battering she was receiving as a consequence. He kept thrashing for a while. She started to whisper in his ear, telling him she was there, telling him to keep calm.  
"I don't know whether I'm doing the right thing, I don't know, but you're safe Danny you're safe," she kissed his forehead softly and he started to settle. She kept a tight grip around him as his eyes opened, tears forming in his eyes. He looked confused, like he was lost. "Danny you're at home, you're in bed, it's just a bad dream, everything's fine," she kissed his cheek and sat up a little to look him in the eye.

"Clara," he whispered her name, pulling her back down to hug her. "I'm sorry," he told her.

"Don't be sorry, this isn't your fault, oh love you're shaking…" Clara managed to move under the covers without going too far.

"We need… we need to talk," he told her but she shook her head.

"No, it's 3am Danny, we need to sleep, but I'm not going anywhere okay? Just rest now. We'll talk in the morning," she told him and lay her head down against him. "I love you." He was already asleep.

She woke up to an empty bed once more, stretching before getting up and heading downstairs. Danny was sat in the kitchen with tea and reading the book she'd leant him. Clara walked in and he leant over to flick the kettle back on while she made her way around. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes as she sat down and he made her tea, handing it over.  
"It wasn't just a nightmare," Danny finally broke the silence as he sat down. "It's the anniversary of the day that made me leave the army, I saw something awful, I did something awful and I can't forget that. I've not had that dream in a while now, not since I met you," he confessed and she took his hands across the worktop. "I don't know if it's because it's the day or because I decided to sleep in the other room…"

"You wanted to tell me last night didn't you?" Clara asked, remembering what he'd said to her. Danny nodded.

"I don't blame you, you were tired and I've been distant all week. I made the decision to sleep in the spare room, not you, I should have told you sooner." Danny sighed gently and Clara stood up, walking round to put her arms around him.

"No, this was your news in your own time. I'm sorry I wasn't there, but I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere. You want to go somewhere today?" She asked, moving so she could drink her tea. "Take your mind off things?"

"How about the zoo?" Clara nearly choked on her tea in surprise and then chuckled. "What?! It'll be great fun. You must have a favourite animal there, everyone does. Let me guess… penguin?" he asked, looking hopeful. She shrugged and grinned.

"I guess you'll have to wait and see," Clara winked, "I'll go and get ready. See you soon," she kissed him quickly and jogged upstairs.

They made it to the zoo by mid-morning and immediately Clara started to run in, pulling him along for a while before slowing down and laughing. Danny smiled and pulled her close for a hug, swaying with her a little as they looked in on the snow leopards that were in front of them. Danny kissed her head gently before Clara moved her head to kiss him properly.  
"It's lovely being out, we've not done it in a while," she took his hand, moving to carry on walking with him. They spent time looking at all the animals, just laughing and joking together and enjoying each other's company. Danny's mind was completely taken off what he'd been worrying about, enjoying his time with his fiancée and no longer needing to think about it.

They'd made it round to the monkey house, walking inside to look when Clara suddenly stopped and pushed him back outside and round the corner. Danny looked confused as she pulled him close in a little alcove at the side of the building.  
"As much as I love you this probably isn't the place…?" he said but she shushed him.

"Beth is in there with her nieces, actually she's just about to walk out of the door," Clara whispered to him, keeping close and still. The door to the building opened and they listened to Beth encouraging her little nieces out. Danny leant out a little to see where they were but as he did he suddenly sneezed and tripped out. Clara's eyes widened and he quickly looked up at her, shaking his head to tell her to keep still, standing up as Beth noticed him.

"Danny? What are you doing here?" she asked, "and… why were you on the floor?" Beth asked, leaning down to pick up the younger of her nieces.

"Oh I'm meeting my friend and her son here but she's stuck in traffic so just wandering. As for the floor, I dropped my phone. Who are these smiley girls?" he asked, quickly changing the topic.

"Ah, this is Georgie," she nodded to the young girl in her arms, "and this is Hayley," she gestured to the one hiding behind her legs. "They're my sister's girls; we're having a fun weekend while Mummy and Daddy are away for their anniversary."

"Sounds like great fun to me, well I'd best not keep you," he smiled at them, conscious that Clara was still hiding.

"You can join us if you like; you'd be more than welcome." Beth was moving a little closer to him and Danny could hear Clara stifling a laugh at her response.

"Oh no don't worry I don't want to interrupt anything. You girls have a good day with your Auntie Beth, and I'll see you at work on Monday," Danny smiled again.

"Well come and say hi if you see us later, but otherwise see you Monday," Beth gave him a flirtatious smile as they walked away, Hayley running after her and asking questions about him. Once they were out of sight Danny took a few steps back and pulled Clara out to which she burst out laughing.

"Your face was a picture," she grinned, "you're adorable." Danny rolled his eyes and she kissed his cheek. "I can't believe she was flirting with you with her nieces there it was hilarious. Bless her heart I almost feel bad…"

"Don't you dare, I'm yours, nobody else's." Danny finished speaking just as Clara spotted Hayley coming round the corner and jumped back from him. "So how come you're here? It's like a teachers convention here today," Danny quickly caught on to her reaction.

"Really? Who else is here?" Clara asked just as Beth caught up with Hayley, "oh hello there, blimey is anyone else around?"

"No no, think it's just us, are you here alone too?" Beth asked, finally getting Hayley's hand. "Sorry, she wanted to come and say hello again I sort of lost control."

"Nah my Dad and Linda are here, I got fed up with all her comments and left them in the café. Hey there Hayley how're you my love?" Clara crouched down, having met Beth's nieces a few times. Hayley quickly started chatting away to her about her new school.

"Something about teachers and monkeys?" Danny joked to Beth who laughed a little more than necessary. "I'd better get going anyway, going to grab a coffee before I have to run after a small child all afternoon. See you both Monday," he said and Clara waved a little nonchalant, continuing to talk to Hayley and now Georgie too. Beth on the other hand played very much used the advantage of her distracted children to get close to Danny.

"You certainly will, maybe we should grab dinner as a celebration after?" There was barely a space between them when Clara glanced up briefly.

"Celebrating what, exactly?" Danny asked, Beth hesitated, "I'll let you think over that one. See you Monday." He quickly went off in the direction of the café.

Clara stood up again once he was gone, "I should probably make myself known to my father once more. It was lovely to see these two again; we'll have to meet up sometime when I'm not burdened by my step-mother," she smiled.

"Yeah definitely," Beth was still glancing in the direction of Danny and Clara suddenly clapped in front of her face to bring her out of her daydream. "Sorry, yes, we'll arrange something."

"You know, you're starting to try a little too hard, maybe tone it back a notch?" Beth shrugged at her comments. "Whatever I'll see you Monday." Clara waved goodbye to the girls as she walked off, also in the direction of the café.

Danny had indeed bought coffee as well as a tea for her which he pushed across the table as she sat down. They both made eye contact for a second before bursting in to laughter.  
"I honestly don't know how we got away with that!" Clara spoke as she calmed herself back to a chuckle.

"Some very clever wording I believe," Danny replied and Clara raised her eyebrows, nodding once.

"We'll make an English teacher of you yet," she smirked before sipping her tea.

"And have to deal with Beth visiting me more than once a day in my classroom? No no I think I'll stick to maths ta." Danny took her hand across the question.

"I have a question," Clara started, putting her cup down. "If I wasn't in the picture, would you?" Danny looked a little shocked, "don't worry I'm in no way worried or jealous, just a little intrigued."

"Well, I suppose I'd go for dinner and see how it went yes, but it doesn't feel anything like it did meeting you." Danny lifted her hand a little and kissed her fingers.

"Mmm she's not shouting at you anywhere near often enough for you to fall in love, I get that," Clara giggled as he dropped her hand and rolled his eyes, pretending to be offended. "Hey it's me that I'm picking on there not you! Anyway, we've come a long way since then." She grabbed his hand once more, letting their fingers intertwine. "Can we head back out now?"

"Of course, we didn't come here to sit in a café and I'm pretty sure Beth will be a safe distance now." Danny smiled, standing up with her and heading out. It was as they opened the door that Clara heard the voice behind her.

"Clara?" She shut her eyes briefly, hoping she'd imagined it.

"Keep walking, don't look back, I'll meet you outside," Clara whispered to Danny before letting go of his hand and turning around, hearing the door shut behind her soon after. "Helen! Fancy seeing you here…" it was getting a little ridiculous now.

"Harry's birthday, he's over there with his mates, was quite glad of the chance to escape for a minute or two. So who's that you're with? You told me there was no news in your love life?" She nudged her, grinning a little. Clara quickly tried to come up with some other story, but a family member wasn't exactly going to cut it.

"It's early days, I didn't really want to say anything what with everything. Still testing the water I guess." She went for vagueness, hoping it would pay off and grateful that Helen clearly hadn't recognised Danny from behind.

"So what's his name then, where'd you meet?!" If it wasn't for the situation Clara would have found her interest quite frustrating. Helen was lovely, but she could be very full on at times.

"Liam, he was a leader on the summer camp I helped out at" - not all a lie - "lives the other side of town and we got on okay, it's just a trial really, see how I can deal with it all. I really don't want too many questions right now; I'm still figuring it out myself." Helen gave her a slightly sympathetic and understanding look. "Please don't, honestly I'm fed up with the sympathy. You'll all find out everything when the time is right I promise. I'd better get going…" Clara gestured a little towards the door.

"Of course, don't want to leave him waiting. See you Monday Clara," Helen turned to go back to her table and she quickly escaped.

"This is getting ridiculous," Clara sighed as she found Danny waiting around the corner. "Maybe we should go home?"

"Oh I don't know I'm quite enjoying running away from all your colleagues," he laughed, pulling her close. "You do know you've had your ring on this whole time don't you?" Clara suddenly looked down at her left hand and Danny grinned, lifting it up and kissing the ring gently.

"I honestly don't know how neither of them spotted that," she moved to put her hands around his neck and kissed him gently.

"Clara you dropped…" Danny and Clara quickly split, looking around to see Helen stood behind them. "Liam eh?" she smirked and Clara knew they'd been busted.

"Helen please you can't say anything, not yet, and we did actually meet on summer camp, that wasn't a lie, I just don't want everyone knowing there'll be too many questions and I can't deal with that," Danny put a hand on her shoulder to calm her.

"My lips are sealed, I promise. You've done a pretty good job of keeping it under wraps though, I honestly had no idea." Helen commented as Clara absentmindedly moved her left hand to take Danny's hand on her shoulder. "Hold on, is that what I think it is? That doesn't look like…" Clara mentally hit herself for being so obvious.

"Yes it is and no it's not," she reached her right hand in to her top and pulled out Tom's ring still hung around her neck to make a point before putting it back. "I know it seems fast, and we will tell people but in our own time. I didn't want Danny to be judged for this, and I really don't want all the questions. It's serious, but for now it needs to be secret," Danny kissed her head gently.

"Hey I'm sure Helen will be discreet, it's fine," he reassured her.

"Of course, I won't say a word. Clara I'm happy for you, for both of you, but you deserve this more than anyone I know. I'll leave you to it, but you know I want more details asap." Helen grinned and handed over the scarf that Clara had dropped before disappearing.

"She'll keep quiet, I do trust her I just… I don't know," Clara sighed and turned around to hug in to him.

"Stop panicking and put that smile back on your face missy, nothing has changed. I have a beautiful fiancée and you're not too bad off either," Danny winked and she chuckled a little. "Come on you, let's carry on round eh? You're meant to be cheering me up not the other way around." Clara nodded, kissing him gently and then moving to take his hand and walk beside him.

They soon got back in to the feel of the day, forgetting all that had happened earlier and enjoying each other's company around the various enclosures. The rest of the day passed quickly and by the time they returned to the car Clara was shattered. Danny smiled as she fell asleep almost immediately when they started the journey home. He managed to carry her inside while barely waking her when they'd got back, laying her on the sofa and resting a blanket on her while he went to sort out dinner.

He glanced through occasionally; she looked so peaceful lying there. He knew that, as good as today had been, it wasn't easy for her to have people knowing. Whatever excuses she made, he knew that her biggest worry was the judgement people would make over her choices. Danny couldn't blame her for that either – she'd been through a lot and nobody expected her to move on in this way after how much she'd clearly been affected before the summer. He'd heard a few stories since he started, some that he'd had to resist commenting on, but this beautiful strong woman was far more vulnerable than even he could have imagined at times.

Once dinner was made he left it in the oven to keep warm, sitting down on the other sofa and watching her sleep. Her left hand was holding her necklace loosely in her sleep, something that made Danny smile. He knew people would expect him to want her to forget Tom, move on completely, but he accepted very early on that was never going to happen. Tom was a part of their relationship and, as strange as that may seem to some people, he never wanted that to change. When his phone rang Danny almost fell off the sofa, quickly pulling it out and answering so as not to wake Clara, but sighing a little when he saw the name on the screen.  
"Beth, have you not had enough of me yet today?" he made his way back in to the kitchen and shut the door.

"Just thought I'd see how your day went after all," she replied. "I saw Helen after lunch, I mentioned you were around but she said she hadn't seen you." Danny smiled a little.

"Ah no I didn't see her; evidently it was teachers day at the zoo. My day was lovely, my friend's little boy is very lively but great fun so he's worn me out well. Did your nieces enjoy the rest of their day?" he asked.

"Oh yes, they're both fast asleep right now, might have to wake them up for dinner so they sleep tonight but it was a lovely day. Hayley loved meeting you by the way." Beth was trying, bless her, but whatever he did she wouldn't let go.

"Well it was lovely to meet her too. I'd better get going anyway, things to do people to see," in reality he'd just heard Clara stirring in the living room, "see you Monday Beth." He hung up quickly and opened the kitchen door to go back through where Clara was now sat up, adjusting to her surroundings. "Hey sleepyhead, how you feeling?" he flicked the kettle on quickly before going in to sit beside her.

"How long was I out?" she asked, leaning on his shoulder.

"An hour or so, you looked so peaceful in the car I didn't want to wake you. Dinner's ready when you are; you want me to plate up?" Danny asked.

"Mmm I'm starving, I'm just gonna go change." Clara stood up and he quickly followed. "Thank you for today, it's been really wonderful," she smiled and kissed him gently. "I love you so much." Danny kissed her back and ran a hand through her hair gently.

"I love you too, and I'm so proud of you for how far you've come. Go on, get changed and we'll have a night on the sofa," he smiled and let her go.


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay so this got away from me I'm sorry…**

Half term came and went and Christmas was approaching at a terrifying rate. By some miracle, it was still only Adrian and Helen that were aware of their relationship and Courtney was still keeping her mouth shut thanks to a bit of bribery. Rumours of Beth and Danny were beginning to circulate among the pupils as time went by, but given that amount of time she spent around him that wasn't a huge surprise and at least it took the weight off Clara.

It was a Wednesday morning and Danny had woken to find an empty bed. He listened for a moment but there was no movement downstairs so he got up and looked out the window to see Clara's car had already gone. He looked around at the clock – 06:33 – why so early? Danny sighed and went back to the bed, sitting down and grabbing his phone to text her. She'd been off most of the week, burying herself in work and anything else she could find. They'd not met up for lunch since the beginning of the previous week and she'd not made a sarcastic comment about Beth in at least 7 days. While he waited for a response Danny jumped in the shower.

When it got to 7:15 and he'd still had no reply, Danny took another approach and phoned Adrian. If something was up and she wasn't talking to him, Adrian would know – at least that's what he hoped.  
"Morning Pink, everything alright?" Adrian asked when he answered the phone.

"Have you heard from Clara?" Danny asked, sorting out breakfast while he was on the phone, "she left really early this morning and isn't answering me."

"Ah…" came the reply, to which Danny paused what he was doing. "No, but I know where she is. Listen mate don't worry, I'll sort it – if she hasn't told you it's not my place to say. She'll be fine, see you at work." Adrian hung up before he'd had the chance to ask any questions – most likely on purpose.

Clara sat at the top of the hill looking out over the dark view. There was no significant noise; just the wind around her interrupting the silence and it was peaceful. She hugged her knees to her chest and held her necklace with one hand, twisting the ring around a little and letting memories rush through her mind.

 _"Tom what are you doing?!" Clara giggled as he grabbed her from behind; "we have to go to work!" she kicked out to get him to put her down, but he didn't let go and instead presented her with a piece of paper. "What's this?"_

 _"Open it," he whispered in her ear and watched as she unfolded the paper, reading the email he'd printed._

 _"I don't get it, why would we take unpaid leave just before Christmas?" she read the email from the head teacher which gave them both permission to be off from the 7_ _th_ _December until the Christmas holidays on the condition it was unpaid to allow for paid cover._

 _"Because we're going to get married on the 10_ _th_ _," Tom told her and finally let go to allow her to turn and face him, a shocked look on her face. "It's all booked – the church, the hotel for the reception, all the places we'd spoken about. A Christmas wedding is what you wanted right? Well after the wedding we'll go on our honeymoon, and we're not coming back until New Year."_

 _"I don't get it, how did you organise all this it's… it's perfect," Clara put the email down and kissed him gently._

 _"You deserve it, I could see how much all the decisions were stressing you out so I thought I'd make them for us both. Now all you need to worry about it… well, everything else, but we'll work through it together," he smiled and flicked her hair back behind her ear. "But now we really do need to get to work." Clara smiled and nodded, pulling away to pick her bag up. "I love you Clara Oswald."_

 _"You're doing it a pretty good job of showing it," she smiled, "I love you too."_

"Clara…" Adrian's voice interrupted her daydream and she looked around to see him unfolding a blanket to rest around her shoulders. "I had a feeling you might be here," he told her and sat down beside her. "Danny called, he was worried." Clara shrugged, looking back out.

"Don't be like that, you should have at least left a note to tell him you were going out early rather than leaving him clueless… but maybe you should tell him?" Adrian suggested. "Clara you've told him so much, why not this?"

"Because I didn't even think about it until last week, how stupid is that? I forgot my own wedding." Clara sighed and pulled the blanket a little further around herself, it was actually pretty cold.

"No you didn't, there's no wedding to think about. I know that sounds harsh but it's true Clara," Adrian told her. "Today would have been the first day of your time off right?" He asked and she nodded. Adrian put his arms around her to let her hug in to him. "Call in sick, I'll cover for you. Before you argue, you're not going to be in a fit state to work today and I think you need some time. Go back to your flat, spend some time there and then come home this afternoon and tell Danny everything. You need him, especially this weekend."

"Always the voice of reason," she sighed, "thank you, I appreciate it. Tell Danny I'll see him at home after work and not to call, I'll text him later when I'm ready." Adrian nodded, believing that she would. "You're going to be late," she told him.

"I know, I'll go, but don't be much longer up here it's freezing." Clara nodded and went back to looking at the view. "Call me if you need to."

Danny stood up as Adrian walked in to the staffroom and looked over to a quieter corner to which Danny made his way over to talk to him.  
"She's fine, but she's not coming in. She'll see you at home later but she doesn't want disturbing for now and she'll text you later. Don't worry Danny; she's doing the right thing for her."

"How am I meant to not worry when I don't know what's going on Adrian?" he asked.

"You just have to trust her, she'll talk when she's ready," Adrian told him, "I'll see you later." He left Danny stood there and went off to prep his lessons.

The morning was far from easy for Danny with his mind on far more important things than teaching. He did his best and managed to get through to break unscathed but he was struggling in third lesson. Something didn't feel right, his head was pounding a little bit it was probably the stress. He got his year 8s to start on some textbook work and sat down, grabbing a quick drink from his water bottle before trying to focus on a bit of marking while they worked. It wasn't long before someone wanted help, however, and Danny stood up to walk over.  
"Sir?" one of the pupils asked as he wobbled a little on standing.

"I'm fine, how can I help?" he made his way over and crouched down by the desk to help the confused pupil. He did his best to talk him through it before suddenly feeling quite ill and having to stand up, but he didn't make it back to his desk.

Danny woke up surrounded by paramedics and first aiders. He looked around, trying to work out what had happened and why he was on the floor. His head was still pounding, but he couldn't move at all.  
"Danny? Welcome back mate," Adrian was knelt behind him, "I was passing, one of the students grabbed me just after you collapsed. How are you feeling?" Danny went to reply but he couldn't, something stopping his brain from communicating with his mouth which only made him more panicked. "Alright calm, the paramedics are looking after you." Adrian explained, although he himself looked a little panicked.

"Alright we're going to get him in now. Anyone coming?" One of the paramedics asked after they'd moved Danny on to the trolley.

"I'll go," Adrian replied, "I'm probably the most free out of us?" He looked around at the other couple of teachers who were with them.

"I don't mind going," Beth, who had appeared from nowhere a few minutes ago, popped up. Adrian shook his head.

"You're covering Clara's next lesson and you're not designated first aider, but nice try." Adrian responded.

"Yes, you go, you know Danny the best of us all. Keep us informed?" The head gave permission and Adrian nodded before following them out to the ambulance. Once they were moving, he finally said what he knew Danny was waiting for.

"I haven't called Clara yet, I couldn't in there. I will do as soon as we are there I promise," he told Danny, but secretly he was dreading calling her given the situation.

"Who's Clara?" The paramedic asked while writing down some obs.

"His fiancée, she works at the school but she's not in today and nobody actually knows they're together – it's a long story. How's he doing?"

"Stable for the moment, but it's a bit of a mystery what's happened and of course why he can't talk to us. We're just arriving now; hopefully you'll have answers soon." Adrian could only watch as they took Danny inside, leaving him to exit the ambulance and make the call he was dreading.

Adrian walked over to a quieter spot, waiting for Clara to answer. He paced a little, trying to work out how to phrase it. Clara seemed to take forever to answer; sounding a little tired when she did which he assumed meant she'd just woken up.

"Adrian I'm fine, and you just woke me up," she complained.

"Clara, I need you to sit down for a moment," Adrian told her.

"I'm lying in bed you fool, what's going on?" Clara responded jokingly, it killed him to ruin her mood again. "I'm at the hospital with Danny. He collapsed at work," he heard her response immediately. "Please try not to panic, he's being looked after."

"No, not again this can't be happening again," she sat up and immediately had to run in to the bathroom to throw up which Adrian could only listen to and wait for her to speak again. "I need to come down I need to be there."

"Clara you can't drive in that state, I'll come and get you it's not far, there's nothing I can do here for now he's being taken for tests." She couldn't argue that, "get yourself dressed and sorted, I won't be long." He hung up, knowing it was better for him to get there.

Clara managed to get herself up from the floor, but walking around her flat was difficult given how shaky her legs now were. She couldn't do this again, it was the same thing, he'd collapsed in that room, the same place. He was in hospital, she wasn't there, anything could happen before she got there and it scared her. She paced her flat, waiting for the door to knock, unable to sit down but struggling to stand up, her mind racing with scenarios. When the door finally went she ran to it, opening it and immediately grabbing Adrian who just managed to stop her from falling to the floor as she cried in to him.  
"Hey, listen to me you need to be strong now. This is not the same; he was stable when they arrived at hospital and he's being looked after," he explained.

"But why? If he's stable then what's the problem? Why did he collapse?" Clara manged to get out as she finally got her balance back.

"Well he has some injuries from the fall and…" Adrian paused and she looked up to him, "he can't talk or move currently, but he's awake Clara – he's awake and that's a good sign." Clara shook her head, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Come on, let's go now," he pulled the door shut and supported her as they made it to the car. The drive in was silent as Clara watched out of the window, silent tears falling down her cheeks. The moment he'd parked she jumped out, running in before he'd even managed to open the door. Adrian locked the car, running after her and managing to catch up with her only as she made it in to the reception area, stopping her from going too far.  
"Calm, come on this isn't going to help now," she resisted for a few seconds before relenting.

"Are you alright?" Adrian looked around to see a nurse stood looking concerned.

"The man who just got taken in to resus, Danny, Clara's his fiancée," Adrian explained.

"Ah I see, why don't you come through to the relatives' room?" She tried to direct them towards the room on the side.

"No I need to see him!" Clara cried, trying to get away. "I need to know he's okay I need to know it's not the same!" The nurse looked even more confused at that.

"Clara please, go and sit in there, it won't be long I promise and I'll find out what's going on in the meantime." She relented eventually, her legs beginning to give way and he helped her in to the room to lie on the sofa before returning to the nurse, who he'd now noted from her badge, was called Tally. "Clara lost her last fiancé in a similar way. He collapsed at work, in the same room, but when they got him to hospital there was nothing they could do. She'd followed in, well, I drove her. When we arrived nobody would let her through straight away and when they did it was too late – he'd had a huge brain haemorrhage and he was gone. I've tried to reassure her Danny is more stable but you can understand why she's so upset." Tally seemed sympathetic as he explained.

"I'll go and get an update for you, last I heard they were taking him to the scanner but he should be back now." Adrian thanked her before making his way back to the relatives' room where Clara was curled up on the sofa sobbing.

"I'm going to lose him, I know it, it's going to happen again," she kept saying over and over. Adrian sat down on the arm beside her; she wouldn't let him touch her. It broke his heart to see his best friend like this again. He'd spent so many days and weeks with her like this following Tom's death, she'd lost too many people and it simply wasn't fair.

"You don't know that Clara, he was stable and awake when I left him," Adrian tried to tell her.

"But he couldn't talk, or move, how is that stable?!" she spoke between sobs, but sat up as soon as Tally returned. "What's happening? Is he alright?"

"I won't lie and say he's out of the woods, but the scans were promising. He's speaking a little now, asking for you. The doctors have said you can go in but only for a few minutes, he needs to go to theatre to realign one of the bones in his arm," Clara jumped up as soon as she was told she could go in but Adrian grabbed her arm.

"Are there any other injuries nurse? Just so she's aware…" Tally nodded with understanding.

"While the scan was clear, there was a significant blow to the head where he fell which needs keeping a close eye on. The left arm is broken and slightly misaligned and his shoulder was dislocated, however that has been relocated. Mr Pink is still unable to move from the neck down, but given the clear scans the doctors believe this may purely be his body's reaction to the injuries – it's being monitored, but they're hopefully it is temporary. They still have yet to determine what caused the collapse, which is now their main cause for concern. More tests will need running of course, but for now he's stable." She finished explaining everything and Clara had to take a moment to take it all in. "Let me take you through." Tally guided them through to resus, holding the door for her. Adrian stopped there, letting her go in alone but staying close just in case.

Danny was hooked up to many machines, with at least 2 drips running and a splint on his arm. Clara went round to his right side so she could take his hand and his gaze followed her constantly.  
"His heart rate is lowering Doctor Howard," Tally nodded to the monitor.

"He's calmed down," the doctor smiled briefly at Clara before going away to leave them for a moment. Tally also backed off, but didn't leave the room.

Clara stood beside the bed, holding his hand and putting her other on his cheek. Danny turned his head a little and kissed her palm to which she had to force herself to hold back tears.  
"Oh my love don't cry," he spoke slowly and very quietly. "You don't get rid of me that easily," he added, turning back again to smile up at her. She managed a small one in return, taking her hand away to wipe at her face.

"I'm sorry, you don't need to worry about me right now," she sniffled a little and took a deep breath to calm down. "You're scared," she told him, looking him in the eyes.

"I'm okay," Danny replied eventually, the words still coming slowly.

"No you're not, you don't have to be all brave now, stop being strong for me – it's my turn to be strong for you." Clara was adamant now, not breaking eye contact.

"But Tom," she bit her lip a little as he said it but only for a second.

"Forget that, it's not important right now. You're still alive, you're here and you're going to get better," Clara told him and leant down to kiss him gently. "I'm going to be here for you all the way, whatever you need. I don't care if it means people find out about us, that's not important right now…" Danny was already shaking his head.

"Clara this isn't the way to break the news, please, you need to keep working and carry on like nothing's happened. People will put any upset down to the situation, nothing else. You can help me after school, but I need you to promise me you'll keep going," he managed to get that out with only a couple of stumbles, but Clara could see it took a lot out of him – this was no time for an argument.

"Okay, alright I will, but I'm here whenever you need me," she told him which seemed to satisfy for now, at least it did until the monitors started alarming and Tally ran over, pulling the crash alarm on the wall. Clara looked back to Danny and realised his eyes were closed. "What's going on?!"

"Clara you need to go outside now," she told her as the doctors ran back in. "He's gone in to VT, no pulse" she told them and they started pulling kit out from everywhere. Clara had stepped back, but she hadn't left the room. "Clara, go back out, you don't need to see this," but she couldn't move. They pulled his gown off, putting defib pads on while someone else was doing CPR. It was mayhem, controlled mayhem, but still terrifying. She'd watched CPR only once before, and that time it hadn't ended well. Adrian had come in now, trying to direct her out but she refused, her eyes glued to Danny.

"Everybody clear? … Shocking!" came the voice and she jumped as she saw Danny jolt at the shock. "Alright he's back in sinus," the doctor announced and Clara assumed that was good as they all seemed to relax. "I think we've found the cause of the collapses everyone, I'll get in contact with cardiology," the doctor left at that point while everyone else started to clear up. Danny's eyes opened at that point and he looked around in panic. Clara ran over, ignoring anyone telling her it wasn't safe yet and crouched down so her face was in line with his.

"You're okay, you're safe," she told him, repeating it a few times while he settled.

"I don't think I've ever seen one person have such a significant positive effect on a patient," Tally spoke quietly to one of her colleagues, but Clara didn't concentrate long enough to note the reply.

"It happened again…" Danny finally realised and Clara nodded, "what happened?" he asked and Clara looked up for some kind of answer. One of the other doctors, whom Clara assumed were the juniors, stopped tidying for a moment and turned to them.

"Mr Pink your heart went in to an irregular and very fast rhythm, one which we had to shock you out of. It's quite likely this is the cause of your earlier collapse also which means we need to explore treatment possibilities as soon as possible. Doctor Howard your consultant is contacting cardiology now and I expect you'll be moved to their ward soon. Try not to worry now, it's promising that we've discovered the cause." He smiled and waited for a response.

"Earlier… I wasn't shocked then…" Danny was confused.

"No, and we can only speculate but at a guess, the fall itself jolted your heart enough. For now you just need to rest, we'll monitor you closely and work out the best course of action." Clara nodded a thank you to him and turned back to Danny.

"See, you're going to be fine love," she told him, although not sure how much she believed herself right now.

"Scared…" he looked her in the eyes as he spoke and Clara cupped his cheeks with her hands.

"You don't need to be, you never have to be scared because you're not alone and you never will be. I love you, we're going to get through this together," she smiled softly and kissed his forehead. "You look tired, just shut your eyes and rest, I'm not going anywhere."

Danny soon drifted off, and not long after he was taken through to the cardiac ward. Clara followed, Adrian following to keep an eye on her. When they arrived he was still fast asleep, the whole experience clearly taking its toll on him. The cardiologist explained that they would most likely be monitoring him overnight and providing treatment first thing in the morning – it was only then that Clara realised it was 6pm.

"When did you last eat?" Adrian asked her once the doctor had left them. Clara shrugged, still watching Danny. "Come on, let's get you something to eat."

"I said I wouldn't leave, I'm not going anywhere," she sat down beside the bed, taking Danny's hand in hers and watching him sleep.

"Clara you heard him, you promised him you'd be in work tomorrow. If you're going to do that you need to eat and sleep." Clara shook her head again.

"I can sleep here, bring food if you want but I'm not hungry," she told him, still not looking up.

"You can't sleep here Clara, visiting hours will be over soon and Danny needs rest," he went over, resting on the arm of the chair and talking to her. "I know you're scared, I know exactly why you won't take your eyes off him and don't want to leave, but he's safe here."

"They want to treat him first thing, the doctor said about that device, I need to be here" she spoke quietly, completely worn out.

"No, you don't, you need to be doing what you do best and throw Shakespeare at your GCSE classes till they're sick to death of it. The hospital will keep you updated, he's in the best place Clara and they can help him." Adrian told her. Clara leant back a little so she rested slightly against him, "let me take you home Clara." She finally relented, but not before making sure Danny would know exactly where she'd gone and that the staff would contact her about anything.

Adrian managed to get Clara inside and in to bed before she fell asleep, but only just. She still hadn't eaten, a fact he knew wasn't good, but she was shattered. He took up residence on the sofa, something that wasn't unusual to him – just a different house. Truth was, this whole situation terrified him too. Not because of Danny as such, he was being treated by the right people, but the effect it was going to have on his friend. The next few weeks were going to be tough, tougher than before because this time it was mostly a secret. He just prayed he could do the best for her.


	15. Chapter 15

**Writing this was tough, but we got there.**

Clara was at work in person the next day, but barely in spirit. She heard everyone say to her how sorry they felt for her and how much it must be affecting her given where the incident happened, but she didn't respond. Of course she was glad they were reading it that way, but she couldn't find it in her to reply.

The students were all well behaved, getting on with what they were asked to do – clearly too worried to do otherwise. The whole school was subdued, the previous day's events really upsetting everyone. It was during her year 7 class that an innocent question was asked.  
"Miss, do you know how Mr Pink is?" her mind quickly ran through his timetable and she realised most of this class were probably in with him at the time. She spent a moment trying to work out how to respond before trying to go in to 'responsible teacher' mode – after all, they were just scared.

"All I know is that he's being looked after Fraser, unfortunately I'm not the best person to ask, but I'm sure we'll be kept updated as much as possible. Are you alright?" she asked, noticing his facial expression seemed on the verge of upset. "Let's go outside for a moment, the rest of you carry on working." Clara took Fraser outside, pulling the door closed. "Was it you that phoned the ambulance yesterday?" she asked and he nodded. "I heard what you did, you did really well. What's upsetting you?"

"I'm just really worried, he looked really sick," Fraser told her, "Mr Pink has been really nice to me, I'm not that good at maths but he helps a lot." Clara nodded.

"Yeah I've heard good things about him. Listen the best thing you can do for him right now is keeping working really hard so when Mr Pink comes back you can show him you've kept going. Do you want to go and sit in the library for the rest of the lesson?" she asked and he nodded again, "alright, I'll go and get your stuff you can wait out here." Clara smiled a little for reassurance before going back in. When she opened the door she noticed her phone on the desk flashing as someone rang. She picked it up quickly on the way to getting Fraser's bag, reassuring his friends that he was alright before going back out. "Here you are, let them know I've sent you – they're welcome to come and check. If you need anything come and find me."

"Thank you Miss. You and Mr Pink should be friends – you're both really nice," Fraser commented and Clara smiled politely, not commenting for obvious reasons. Once he'd gone she quickly pulled out her phone in panic and called back the number that phoned. "Hello, someone called me from this number – Clara Oswald?"

"Oh yes that was me, I'm Hayley – a nurse at St George's hospital. I'm calling on behalf of your fiancé Danny; he just wanted you to know that he's going for his procedure this morning and to tell you not to worry because the doctor is very good – something I can agree with. He also told me to say thank you, but he didn't say what for?" Hayley told her.

"It's okay, I know," Clara had to lean against the wall as she'd spoke, but she didn't notice the tears until Beth walked passed and stopped on seeing her. "Thank you, can you phone when it's over?" she asked, having to go vague.

"Of course, it'll be a good while so don't panic if it takes time." Hayley let her know before hanging up. Beth put a hand on her shoulder.

"Clara are you alright?" she asked, looking incredibly concerned. Clara knew she'd been struggling with the Danny situation too, but she couldn't let her know that was why she was upset. She wiped at her eyes, nodding. "Liar; who was on the phone?"

"Hospital," she told her, "my cousin is in there, he's gone for surgery it's all… quite serious." Clara hated lying, but she'd got pretty good at it recently. She didn't even have a cousin, but Beth didn't know that.

"You guys are close?" Beth asked, "I don't remember you mentioning him?"

"Very, I just don't talk about family life at work. We grew up together; spent hours round each other's houses and to this day talk all the time. He only moved down here recently, it's been great seeing him so frequently and now…" she shook her head, "I need to get back to my class."

"Let me finish off, it's nearly lunch go and take a break Clara, you look worn out," Beth told her.

"Are you sure? Are you alright? All this stuff with Danny, you guys are close…" she asked her and Beth shrugged.

"I guess, but I'm alright Clara honestly. Go on, go get tea and relax, or go home if you want – your flat isn't far to disappear for an hour or so?" she suggested.

"Yeah, I might do. Thank you Beth, I appreciate this. Oh, Fraser is in the library by the way he's still quite upset after what happened yesterday. If anyone asks I did give him permission and if he comes looking for me tell him I'll see him when I'm back," Beth nodded as she took the information in.

"Got it - now go!" Beth smiled and went passed her in to her classroom as Clara disappeared off.

She considered going back to the flat, but it would just feel empty. She couldn't go to the hospital; Danny wouldn't be out for hours. Clara ended up going to her office – somewhere she rarely went – sat on the chair with a mug of tea and stared at the wall. She had all sorts going through her head, scenarios that could occur, including the worst. The bell went for lunch, but she didn't move other than to put her half-drunk tea down and wrap her arms round her knees, pulling them to her chest and letting tears fall.

The knocks at the door shocked her – everyone knew she never came in here and the blinds were shut. She didn't move, turning away from the door and hoping they'd go away – they didn't. 3 more knocks and she waited.  
"Clara, it's me. Let me in before someone actually realises why I'm here and blows your cover," Adrian – of course. If anyone would work out where she was hiding then it would be him. Clara stood up and unlocked the door before sitting back down before he came in. "Beth said you'd gone home but I knew you wouldn't want to, I half expected you to be at the hospital but your coat was still in the staffroom. What's wrong love?"

"He's going to theatre, anything could happen Adrian - it's a long procedure. I don't know what to do I feel so useless," she told him but he shook his head.

"Don't speak rubbish, I bumped in to Fraser earlier and he's looking a lot happier thanks to you. Even Beth seems cheerier, apparently hearing about your 'cousin' has made her realise her problems aren't anywhere near as bad." Adrian raised an eyebrow at her as he spoke and Clara gave a brief smiled. "I'd love to meet him, he sounds great."

"Shush you, it's all I could think of," she told him and he chuckled. "Adrian what am I meant to do?"

"What you know you should do, go home, everyone will understand," Clara shook her head, still fighting tears, "well what are you doing to do here? Spend the rest of the afternoon with your mind on Danny, unable to give your classes the attention they deserve?" Clara sighed.

"I can't go home Adrian, it's so empty. My flat just brings back memories too, I can't be there alone and you can't leave. Just…" she glanced over to the timetable on her wall, "get my last 2 lessons covered. I'll stay in here; I've got plenty of paperwork and marking to be getting on with and I can keep my phone out." Clara pulled her laptop out of her bag, turning it on.

"Clara…" he pushed the screen down.

"No Adrian! This is the best you're going to get. Now please, you have work to do." Clara looked away and started working on something. Adrian eventually had to give in and left.

Clara didn't leave her room for hours, not until her phone rang. The operation was done and Danny was back on the ward. She looked at the clock; it was 5 minutes until the end of the school day. She knew waiting for Adrian was her only option today, but she was determined to be ready to go as soon as possible. Clara grabbed her bag, packing up her laptop and grabbing her coat. She made her way to Adrian's classroom and hovered outside while trying not to seem too keen. As the bell went students began to flood into the hall, streaming by as they made their way to the exit. Typically Beth reappeared just as she was going to go into Adrian.

"I thought you'd gone?" she asked. "How are you doing?"

"I had to come back, left some marking and I need to discuss some things with Adrian. I'm alright, honestly." Clara replied, glancing into Adrian's room who did catch her eye for a moment so she gave him a look.

"You just can't keep away Clara Oswald, some things never change. Well I suggest you get an early night." Beth said, smiling at her. Thankfully Adrian saw the nervous look in her eyes and staged an intervention.

"Clara, sorry I don't have long can we walk and talk?" he had his bag in hand ready to go – fully in character.

"Sure, see you Beth – thanks for the advice," she quickly scooted around her and joined Adrian. "Thank you, I never thought I'd get away. The hospital phoned, Danny's out of theatre, can we go please?" Clara asked as they reached his car.

"Of course, jump in I'll drive you straight over. I can't stay though…" Clara nodded, not really bothered as long as she got to the hospital. "I'll pick you up after my meeting about 8ish? That's when visiting ends right?" she sighed, nodding. "You can't stay forever, you know that." He told her. Clara didn't reply, staring at her phone until they arrived at the hospital.

She jumped out as soon as they arrived, briefly thanking Adrian before running inside. She ran to the ward and was greeted by Hayley who stopped her.  
"Clara right?" she nodded, "Danny's just arrived back on the ward - he's still a little groggy but he is awake. He arrested again while they were doing the procedure, but they're confident that was just down to what they were doing and his recent arrests. Once he's on some medication and with this device in he'll be a lot better." Hayley explained. Clara didn't really know how to respond.

"Can I go in?" Hayley showed her through; he was half asleep on the bed but opened his eyes when she walked in. Clara ran over and kissed his head, taking his hand. "Don't scare me like that again, never again." Danny smiled weakly, lifting her hand up to his lips and kissing it softly.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, I'm so sorry," he replied, but Clara shook her head quickly. "No, I am. You were upset," he spoke quietly.

"That's not important, it doesn't matter anymore. We need to focus on you now," she sat down beside him, keeping a tight hold on his hand. "How are you feeling?" Danny seemingly had to think about that, maybe he hadn't considered the answer in a while.

"Okay I think, still a little groggy but at least I can move now," he told her. "They reckon I could be home in a couple of days, but I'm not going to be the most useful person…"

"It's a good job you've got me then isn't it? What have they said about work? You can't go back straight away surely?" she asked.

"No, I'll have a review 2 weeks after I've been discharged and potentially be able to go back a week after that. Unless anything changes, it's just my shoulder and my arm which I can actually teach with so… what?" he was staring at her face which seemed unconvinced.

"3 weeks isn't very long Danny, you need time to recover," she looked worried and Danny couldn't blame her for being so.

"I'll be fine Clara, I've got the best nurse at home I'll be ready in no time. I promise I won't push anything too far, you don't need to worry." Clara leant over and kissed him. "Mmm more of those will help greatly," he chuckled and she smiled in return, "and more of those too," he put a hand to her cheek and a thumb to the corner of her smile. "You know what I'm going to miss the most in all this?" he asked and Clara made eye contact with him, "being able to hold you properly, I love that."

"I'll miss you doing so, but we need to get that arm and shoulder better before you get to do that again so we'll find ways to cope for now. Maybe I should take time off?" Danny immediately shook his head.

"You can't, you know that. Not just because of us, but that is a factor, we can't leave the school 2 teachers down for that long. I'll be alright love, and it's not something to think about just yet. We'll get the weekend done; I won't be going home till at least Monday so…" Clara looked down, nodding. "Clara what's that look? What is it? There's something I'm missing I know there is – why weren't you in yesterday? Where did you go?" so many questions, Clara stood up, taking a few steps away which Danny could only watch.

She stood at the window in his room, looking out on the car park she could see although not really paying attention to what's out there. Danny didn't need this, he shouldn't have to worry about her and her past right now, but she didn't want to lie to him. Adrian told her to tell him, but that was before all this.

"I was meant to be off for the rest of the term," she finally spoke, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room. "The wedding was this Saturday," Clara didn't look around, still vaguely looking out of the window and absentmindedly playing with her necklace. "I should have told you, I didn't want to upset you but it all seems so unimportant right now."

"Hey, come here," Danny told her and Clara walked back over, taking his hand that was waiting for her. "We're both in pain of different kinds right now, but we're going to be alright because we have each other." Clara nodded sitting back down, "I'm going to be fine babe, absolutely fine. Relax, come here," he shuffled over on the bed a little so she could join him and Clara hugged up to his good side, Danny holding her on.

It didn't take long for Clara to fall asleep, she was shattered and Danny was comfort as always. Hayley came in to bring his dinner later on, a little surprised at the sight before her.  
"She needs the sleep; sorry I know it's probably not strictly allowed. You know Clara was meant to get married on Saturday? Her ex died 6 months before I met her, turns out this weekend would have been their wedding and with all this, I think it's just a bit much." Hayley nodded, putting the dinner down on his table. "He collapsed in the same classroom I was in yesterday; it's all too familiar for her."

"Poor girl… can't be easy for either of you to be in that situation?" she asked, checking his obs quickly.

"I guess not, but it's worse for her. I'll get better, physical injuries do that, but this for her it's not as easy. Saturday is going to be really hard and I'm stuck in here," he sighed.

"You shouldn't dismiss what's happening to you Danny, this is life changing," Hayley told him, taking the BP cuff back off him.

"Yeah I know, I'll have to make changes and take medication, I can't drive for 6 months and I could have a shock at any time. But the likelihood of that once I'm on the medication is minimal; I'll essentially be living a normal life. I know you're all concerned about this affecting my mental health, but I've seen worse, and sometimes you see things that make you realise your problems are minimal compared to some. Imagine watching someone you love die, and then when you're finally happy again almost the same thing happens again. I can't even understand how that must feel for her; I hate to see the pain in her eyes. She feels guilty that I'm worried about her, but she shouldn't – I love her and I don't want to see her going through this."

Hayley could see he meant what he said, he was serious. Clara clearly meant the world to him, and he was very worried about what was happening.  
"Make sure she's here on Saturday then. 11am on the dot and she can stay all day, it'll be good for both of you," Hayley smiled, "I'm working so I'll make sure you're not disturbed too much."

"Thank you, that'll be helpful," Danny replied, smiling thankfully.

"How are you planning on eating those sandwiches, may I ask? Can I help?" Hayley chuckled and Danny smiled.

"Oh they can wait, I'm fine. Thanks though, I'll eat once she wakes." Danny let her go, settling back and watching Clara sleep.

Adrian arrived at half 7, being let in by one of the health care assistants. Clara was still fast asleep, her head resting on Danny's chest. Adrian smiled, taking a seat beside the bed after he'd greeted Danny.

"How long has she been asleep?" Adrian asked and Danny had to glance at the clock.

"About 3 hours now, I guess we'll have to wake her soon," Danny told him, gently playing with the end of her hair.

"Best had, how are you doing?"

"Alright thanks, just lacking the use of one arm – well – currently both arms but you know," Danny chuckled but stopped when he noticed Clara stirring. "Hey sleepyhead," he kissed her forehead softly.

"Ergh get a room," Adrian joked as Clara got her bearings and sat up, "evening Miss Oswald."

"What time is it…?" she asked, not moving too far from Danny but looking at her phone. "Blimey…" she stretched a little and then spotted the sandwiches, "you haven't eaten? Danny you should have woken me." Clara gave him a stern look to which he only smiled. "Oi stop that when I'm trying to be mad at you!"

"Nope; because you trying not to smile is very cute. I didn't have a spare arm to eat and I didn't want to wake you, you looked so beautiful. Speaking of eating however, when did you last have food?" Danny asked and Clara looked away.

"I threw bananas at her this morning," Adrian told him but Clara only looked more sheepish, "you didn't eat them did you?" She shrugged.

"Clara! Have you eaten at all in the last 36 hours?" he asked and she still didn't respond. "Right, you're going home right now and you're going to have a meal." Now she looked around.

"No, I'm not leaving you yet," she told him.

"It's nearly time Clara, you have work tomorrow and you _need_ to eat. Please, for me?" he took her hand and kissed it softly.

"Come on Clara, I'll even cook," Adrian tried to encourage her.

"Ergh no thanks we'll get something in," she replied and Danny chuckled. "Fine, okay I'll go. But I'll be back straight after work tomorrow alright?"

"I would expect nothing less. I love you Clara, please look after yourself," she leant over and kissed him.

"I'll try I promise," she told him, hugging her.

She was forced home to eat and sleep which she did but only because Adrian kept reminding her what Danny had said. Clara forced herself into work, pushing through the day and the evening was spent back at the hospital, although she resisted the urge to sleep this time however tired she was. Once again she was made to leave at 8 and spent another night staring at the ceiling. Saturday morning came quicker than she wanted and Clara woke up from a restless sleep at 5am, giving up at that point and going through to the kitchen to make tea. She sat down in the lounge, flicking the TV on quietly for a bit of comfort and sipping slowly at the tea as she wrapped her hands around the mug for warmth. She pulled her phone out, jumping a little as it went off in her hand – shocked at the early text.

 _Go back to sleep, it's too early xx_ Clara smiled briefly at the phone before replying.

 _How did you know? Xx_ she sent to Danny, taking another sip of tea.

 _I know you too well._ He replied and Clara sighed, he was so right.

 _You do, but I can't sleep. How come you're awake?_ She asked him, putting her mug down now.

 _Just woke up, but I did go to sleep about 9. How are you feeling?_ Danny knew what today was now, and somehow that made it a little easier.

 _Empty… I don't really know? I just can't wait to get in and see you, remind myself why this doesn't matter anymore._ Clara put her phone down to stand up but no sooner had she done so when it rang.

"Clara Oswald of course this matters," came the voice on the other end in a fairly whispered but serious voice. "Today should have been your wedding day, that's important. I don't want you to ever forget that."

"I love you so much, you know that right?" Clara replied, equally keeping her voice down.

"Of course I do, and I love you too. Clara will you do something for me?" he asked.

"You know the answer to that," she told him.

"Go back to bed, please. Stay on the phone, just go back to bed," he instructed. Clara didn't argue this time, going in and lying down on the bed, informing him she'd done so. "Good, now stick your phone on speaker just loud enough so you can hear it and shut your eyes," he waited for her to do so. "Just relax sweetheart, I'm right here beside you. All this is going to be fine, I'm going to be fine; we'll be back together before you know it. I know today is difficult and upsetting for you and that is alright, but just remember the good things. You're a wonderful teacher, a beautiful daughter and a perfect girlfriend and none of that is going to change just because you have one bad day. Listen to me Clara, I wish I could be there right now with my arms wrapped around you and holding you close – keeping you safe. You mean the world to me, just seeing you makes me feel so much better and nobody has ever done that before…" Danny smiled as he heard her breathing relax as she fell asleep. "Goodnight beautiful."


	16. Chapter 16

Danny was discharged on Monday and Adrian picked him up at lunchtime, taking him home and settling him in before returning to work. Clara of course was panicking, having given Adrian full instructions on what to put where for Danny and what to leave him. She still insisted on texting him while he was out, making sure everything was okay, and as soon as Adrian had left she text Danny to make sure he was comfortable. Lunchtime ended far too quickly and her year 7s arrived for fourth lesson so she had to put her phone down.  
"Miss did you hear the good news?" Fraser ran up to her as they walked in. Clara looked a little confused at him, "about Mr Pink? He's out of hospital apparently, how good is that? Is someone looking after him?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure he has friends at home kid, now we'd better get on with learning," she told him, moving the conversation on before she had more time to think and worry about Danny. The lesson went fairly well in the end, knowing Danny was strong enough to be home helped but worrying that he couldn't do much for himself right now was driving her a little crazy. Her final lesson was a little harder, year 10 were a tricky bunch especially with Christmas creeping ever closer. She was half way through, and a little fed up with shouting at the class, when she spotted her phone flashing while she was mid flow, stopping her when she spotted Danny's name on the screen.  
"Hold that thought, start planning your essays. I'll be back." Clara told them, grabbing it off the table before running out and through to her office before answering. "Danny?"

"Clara your Gran is here," Danny sounded a little frustrated and Clara found herself laughing a little. "It's not funny she let herself in and I nearly fell off the sofa! When did she get a key?" he was whispering a little.

"Adrian got one for her while you were in; apparently he's keeping her fully updated on my life. I'm guessing he told her you were coming home… and now she's come to look after you?" she couldn't be angry at her Gran for this, she only cared.

"She's making me tea," Danny whispered.

"You like tea, what's the problem?" Clara asked, "you do know I was in the middle of shouting at my year 10 class?"

"Sorry I just didn't really know how to respond? I've barely met her it's a little odd," she chuckled at his comments. "Clara Oswald behave!"

"Whatever, I'll be home in an hour just let her make you tea Danny, she cares about you because I care about you. I love you lots but I really do have to go," she told him.

"I love you too, I'm sorry for interrupting. See you soon," Danny replied before hanging up. Clara rolled her eyes a little at her phone before going back to class.

The day ended and she got home in record time, unlocking the door and dropping her bag, immediately going through and sitting down beside Danny, kissing him deeply.

"Oh you're back!" Clara jumped back when her Gran's voice came from behind her. "Don't mind me, I was just washing up I'll leave you be," she turned around and went back in to the kitchen, only once the door was shut did Clara and Danny start laughing.

"Oh I've missed you so much," he told her, reaching his good arm up to her face which she leant in to.

"Mmm I bet, happy to be home?" she asked.

"Very. Not so happy with all the rules." Danny sighed, looking down at his arm.

"It's all for your own good, you'll be back to yourself before you know it and in the meantime you'll have to put up with me fussing over you," Clara smiled and moved her head to kiss the palm of his hand. "I'll go start on dinner, any preferences?"

"Just don't burn it!" Danny called as she walked to the kitchen and Clara rolled her eyes before going in to find her Gran already cooking something on the hob.

"You really don't need to do all this Gran, you've done plenty, go home and rest. We're fine here," Clara started to grab plates from the cupboard.

"You're not fine Clara, I can see it in your eyes," she stopped her granddaughter from rushing around. "You've been through a lot these last few days, you're worrying too much."

"I'm worrying just enough, I nearly lost Danny like I lost Tom, but I didn't and now I have to make sure he's okay. Please Gran, let me do that." Her Gran pulled Clara in for a hug which she resisted for a moment but eventually relaxed in to. It was only then she finally let go, tears falling from her cheeks and in to her Gran's shoulder. They just stood there for a minute or too, allowing Clara to have her moment.

"Danny and I were talking earlier and he told me how worried he was about you," she started speaking to Clara who stood up slowly, wiping at her eyes.

"He shouldn't be worried about me, he nearly died why is he worried about me?" She questioned, still trying to dry the tears.

"Because, my love, he knows you very well. He knows that when you went in to the hospital yesterday and told him how much better you were feeling that it was all a load of rubbish and that you still aren't sleeping. He knows that when you have been sleeping it's been broken by those dreams you used to have that plagued you for so long. Danny's had Adrian keeping him in the loop and for good reason. We all know how hard this is on you Clara..." she told her but Clara shook her head, stepping back.

"Danny is the one sat in there barely able to do anything for himself. He is the one who nearly died, not me! Why doesn't anyone seem to get that?!" She shouted at her before storming out of the room, ignoring Danny calling her and running upstairs. Clara knew she was probably being childish, but she couldn't stand the constant sympathy. School was great in that way, nobody knew - well almost nobody - and she could go a few hours without being asked if she was okay or being reminded of what had happened. Her Gran was right, the dreams had come back, but that wasn't important. Danny needed to recover now and she needed to be there for him. If everyone was going to keep telling him she needed help how was she supposed to do that?! She slid down the door, leaning against it and holding her knees up to her chest, her hand reaching for her necklace.

"I miss you so much at times like this," Clara almost surprised herself - it had been ages since she'd spoken to Tom. "We were meant to be married now, lying on a beach celebrating being husband and wife and the happiest people on earth. We were going to spend Christmas together just you and me in our own little place..." she sighed gently and glanced to her engagement ring on her finger. "I love Danny so much, I know you would too and I know you just want me to be happy but I don't know how to be. He's broken his arm and had to have surgery, his heart stopped and he has this device in now, the injuries to his leg from the fall make it difficult for him to walk around and because of other injuries he's not allowed to be up and about too much for the next 2 weeks. I promised I'd look after him but I also have to be at work and I don't know how I can do both? All he's doing is worrying about me, that's not going to help is it?" Clara had to wipe her cheek again quickly. "I feel so stupid, talking out loud like this, but you would always listen to my little rants." She went to stand up but as she did something fell off the bookshelf - it was the planner she'd had for their wedding, Danny had said she should keep it. Clara picked it up, slowly opening the first page and read the first page that Tom had drawn in before he gave it to her.

 _'We do this together. Every step, I won't let you suffer'_

"You're such a prick sometimes you know that Thomas? You're meant to agree with me not prove me wrong!" Clara half chuckled as she spoke and sighed, letting her hand gently glide across the page. As she did she felt her phone go in her pocket and pulled it out. "Alright you've made your point now," she said before answering.

"Clara what's going on?" Danny's voice sounded concerned. "Your Gran just told me about your conversation... she's left now, she's not angry just wanted to give you space. Please come down and talk love, I know I'm hurt and need to heal but that doesn't mean I love and care for you any less," he told her - she knew he was right too. Clara hung up without a word and made her way downstairs where Danny was sat with two trays of dinner on the coffee table in front of him.

"Some things don't change," she smiled briefly and sat down beside him. "I'm sorry, I really am. I'm just tired, a little hormonal and fed up, but I'm so glad I've got you home." She leant over and picked up the dinner for him. "How are you feeling?"

"Dosed up on painkillers so pretty okay really, just happy to be back with you." They both started eating, not speaking much while they did.

"I need to get some marking done..." Clara finally spoke as she put her tray back down. "Sorry it's not going to be the most interesting evening."

"That's fine as long as you stay here and do it," he smiled and kissed her head before she got up to get her bag, bringing it over. Clara leant against him carefully, bringing her legs up as she started going through essays. Danny played with her hair a little as she marked, paying more attention to her than what was on the TV. Clara noticed, but didn't say anything - he seemed happy and that was all that mattered.

When they woke up the next morning it was still early. Danny had been awake for an hour or so when Clara woke and he smiled as she looked up to him, kissing her hair gently and stroking her hair back.

"Hello you, you've still got time to rest you know?" Clara moaned a little, still waking up.

"Can't, need to get you sorted before work," she finally shuffled up the bed a little to kiss him good morning. "How long have you been awake?" Clara asked him.

"An hour or so, you're so beautiful to watch sleep," he smiled again but Clara saw through.

"You're in pain aren't you?" She asked and he didn't deny it. "I'm going to go and get you some breakfast and your painkillers." Clara disappeared for a few minutes to grab breakfast things and reappeared with a tray for them both with tea and food as well as Danny's prescriptions.

"I could get used to this," Danny told her and she slid back in beside him. "How are we working this situation then?"

"Once you've eaten we can get you up and dressed and settled downstairs. I'll make sure you have food and water in easy reach. You can call me anytime and I'll be back at lunch for a bit," Clara explained, sipping at her tea.

"Clara you don't have to come back at lunch, I'll be fine." Danny told her, but she wasn't having any of it.

"The only time I can't come is Wednesdays because I have a revision group but Adrian said he can pop over. You can't be here all day on your own you know what they said in the hospital. I'll be fine; I'm just doing what is requested of me. Now, while you finish that lot up I'm going to jump in the shower. See you in a few," she didn't leave him time to argue as she kissed him and left.

Clara managed to get Danny up and sorted before she left for work, only running a couple of minutes late to the staff meeting. She snuck in to the staff room, standing at the back and vaguely listening to what was being said while ignoring Adrian's glances over to her.

"Plenty of you have heard that Danny is now home, he's requested that people not go and visit for now but is grateful for all the cards and well wishes. I'm informed he has all the support he need, so nobody needs to worry. I'll keep you all updated, thank you all, have a good day." The head finished up and Clara immediately left for her room in an attempt to avoid people - it didn't work. Helen appeared in her doorway a few moments later.

"No visitors huh?" she smiled and Clara shrugged. "Hey what's up?" Helen suddenly looked concerned and walked over, shutting the door behind her for a little more privacy.

"Nothing, honestly I'm just a bit tired. How are you?" Clara replied and started to set up.

"I'm fine, but you're never late," She pointed out and Clara shrugged.

"I've had a lot to do this morning that's all. Listen, would you mind taking the meeting at lunch? I need to pop back..." Helen nodded and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Clara it's fine, but please make sure you're looking after yourself?" Clara quickly agreed, carrying on setting up her classroom. "Alright, see you later." Helen left the rom a little reluctantly, convinced something wasn't right.

She made her way next door to Adrian's room who immediately stood up from his desk when he saw Helen's facial expressions. "I don't like it; I don't like it at all. She looks shattered and she's hiding something, we need to watch her." Adrian sighed and nodded at her comments.

"I'll make sure to walk by during her lessons. She's going to need some serious support over the next few weeks," he agreed.

They did, at least they tried. It had now been a week since Danny came home and Clara had come in to work that Monday ignoring everyone. Adrian tried to talk to her but she shrugged him off, saying she needed to get things organised. He phoned Danny, but he said she seemed alright at home which only led him to suspect more that she was hiding whatever was wrong from Danny too. Adrian tried not to let much on to him and hung up, going back through to Clara's room but she wasn't there. He gave up, assuming she'd gone to the staff room and heading off to his lesson for now, taking a mental note to pop in after first lesson.

As it turned out, he didn't even leave his classroom before two of his form group knocked on the door and came in.  
"Sir, you're friends with Miss Oswald right?" Georgie asked him a little nervously.

"Indeed, is something wrong?" he asked, trying to seem calm but actually a little worried that a student has approached him.

"We don't know, but she doesn't look very well and she kept leaving the room during the lesson," she explained, a couple of her friends nodding behind. "We asked but she said she was fine and seemed a little snappy so we didn't push it, but we thought someone should know."

"Alright, thank you for letting me know, you'd better get to your next lessons. See you later." Adrian let them leave before going to her room, walking in on her class who had already sat down. "Any chance of a quick word Miss Oswald?" Adrian asked and her year 11s immediately started wolf whistling, "alright shut up you lot and get your books out!"

"Doesn't look like I have much of a choice does it, but I can deal with my own class thank you," she stood up and the pupils started making all sorts of _'oooo'_ noises. "You heard - books out!" Clara shouted at them, shocking the class and Adrian alike as they walked out of the room.

"What on earth was that Clara?" he asked when the door was shut, "I've just had 3 of your previous group in asking me if you're okay, why did you keep leaving the lesson?"

"I just needed to sort things, they were fine and they have no right to be butting in, now I should really get back to-" Clara stopped suddenly.

"Clara?" he looked as she blanked out. After a few seconds she looked up, "what was that?"

"I'm fine, just leave me to do my job Adrian," she snapped again but he grabbed her arm, "what?!"

"I'm taking this lesson, you can do some marking or whatever you want but you're not well and I'm taking you home at break time," Adrian told her, not making it a question. "Don't make this difficult Clara, you know I'm right." Clara pulled her wrist away and held her hands up.

"Fine, you get your way, I'll be in my office," she walked off, thankful that she'd put most of her stuff in there this morning as she'd started to use it as more of a hide away. Adrian watched as she went, sighing a little at her attitude before going in to the lesson.

When Adrian knocked on the door there was no sign of Clara, he looked around before being caught by the head who informed him she'd gone home ill. Adrian pretended to be clueless until he left before sticking his head round Beth's door as he knew Helen wouldn't be in hers.  
"Hey, I have to pop out – I shouldn't be too long but if I'm running late can you tell my year 13s to continue with their essays?"

"Sure, is it Danny? Is he alright?" Adrian resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"He's fine, but I'm already running out of time so I'll see you in a bit. Thanks Beth," he told her before jogging off.

Having been unable to concentrate on work and knowing Adrian would only dob her in if she insisted on staying, Clara went home half way through the lesson. She didn't fancy the questioning from her friend on the journey back, it seemed easier to make her own way. Danny was making his way from the bathroom to the sofa when she walked in, slowly, but he was getting there.

"Hey, need a hand?" Clara asked him, dumping her stuff and walking over.

"No no I'm alright, what are you doing back?" Danny made the last few steps, falling back down on to the sofa fairly safely.

"Adrian's on some mission to make out I'm not well enough to be at work, I gave up arguing – I'm fine though, honestly, I feel a bit ridiculous being home. You need anything?" Clara grabbed his empty coffee mug and went through to the kitchen to wash up from breakfast, leaving the door open so they could talk.

"Clara, Adrian knows you better than me – what's up?" Danny asked, sounding concerned.

"Honestly nothing, I'm a little tired and maybe a bit more snappy than normal but I'm not ill," she flicked the kettle on to make tea. "Hungry?"

"I'm fine, come and sit down love," he told her as she finished making the tea. Clara took the mugs through and sat down beside him, smiling a little sarcastically to which he rolled his eyes. "Alright point made, but if you're tired you need to rest and maybe Adrian sees that."

"Tiredness isn't a reason to be off work Danny," she sighed, sipping at her tea.

"What did you tell Arthur then?" he asked her and Clara shrugged.

"Just that I wasn't right, some rubbish about not being able to do the job well enough to be there and I'd explain more tomorrow – gives me time to come up with something which feels ridiculous. Anyway, I'm here now. How are you feeling?" Clara asked, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Not so bad, this lifestyle is getting a little boring now though – it says a lot when physio is the highlight of your week really. Daytime TV is incredibly boring after a week," he chuckled.

"That, my dear, is why we have Netflix!" she grabbed the TV remote off him and started to flick through. As she did the door knocked, confusing both Danny and Clara. She stood up, chucking him the remote back and looking through the peephole on the front door, sighing as she opened the door. "I'm home, isn't that enough?"

"You should never have driven home!" Adrian walked in without being invited – but then he generally did. Clara shut the door, following him through.

"Adrian I'm fine! Look, home safe and sound, relaxing on the sofa with tea, what more do you want from me?!" she complained and went to sit back down.

"Clara there's no need for that," Danny commented. "What do you mean she shouldn't be driving home?" he looked up to Adrian.

"Yeah, what exactly do you mean?" Clara asked, "I don't know what's got in to you Adrian and why you're so determined to have me at home but I'm here now, so you can go – you'll be late."

"You went all blank on me earlier Clara, I don't know what it was, maybe you're overtired but you should not have been driving!" Adrian was beginning to lose patience; he wasn't angry, but incredibly worried.

"You never lost track of your thoughts mid conversation? I just remembered some marking I forgot about," Clara lied and turned away. "Go back to work Adrian, I'll see you tomorrow." At that point he gave in, holding his hands up before walking out.

"Clara, what was that? He's your best friend and he's looking out for you," Danny pointed out, but she only shook her head. "I don't know what's going on with you right now but something's not right." Clara pulled away as he put a hand up to her.

"Leave it Danny, just leave it," she moved across the sofa, picking up her laptop and setting to work. Danny sighed, giving up for now and going back to the TV.

Clara kept quiet for most of the day after that, only moving to go to the loo or grab some books. Danny had his own lunch pretty much sorted anyway, he wanted to tell Clara to eat but if he even thought about talking she seemed to glare at him. When dinner came around, however, he had to say something.

"Clara," he started, but she ignored him. "Look we don't have to talk but you need to eat and well, I'm kinda starving," he told her, but she didn't move. "Fine, I guess I'll sort my own dinner." Danny started to push himself up, it was only then Clara moved.

"No, you can't stay stable enough yet to cook," she finally told him. "I'll sort dinner, just don't stress yourself please?"

"Alright, but only if you actually eat because you didn't have lunch," Danny instructed, but Clara didn't respond – or move. "Clara?"

"What?! I'll eat don't worry," she finally responded before going in to the kitchen as if nothing had happened, leaving Danny wondering if something more was going on.


	17. Chapter 17

Clara didn't go to work the next day. Danny had managed to reach over and switch her alarm off while she slept, instead calling her in sick. She'd been restless most of the night with multiple bad dreams that she wouldn't talk about when she woke she seemed incredibly distressed. This was the longest period she'd slept all night and Danny wasn't about to watch her force herself to work. He'd managed to get himself up and downstairs albeit quite slowly. Once he was down movement was a little easier and he managed to get the kettle going, leaning against the side as it boiled. He knew Clara was going to be angry when she woke up, but in all honesty that was the least of his worries right now. Something was seriously wrong, he could tell that, but she wasn't telling him anything and that scared her.

"Morning Danny," he looked around and smiled as Clara's Gran walked in.

"Morning Grace, you got my text then?" Danny had contacted her after phoning the school, he didn't like asking things of her but he also knew Clara might listen to her.

"Yes, I figured it'd be quicker for me to get here than reply – you know I'm not great with this phone. How is she?" Grace asked, taking over the tea making.

"Asleep still, I'm hoping she will be for a little while yet – she kept waking in the night, bad dreams was all she'd say but I'm certain there's something going on," he told her and she nodded, handing him the tea.

"You know she won't tell me anything right?" Grace said, sitting opposite him at the table.

"Well she's not going to talk to me, I've been trying but all she sees is my injuries, I don't know how to get through to her now," he sighed, putting his head in his good hand. He felt Grace's hand on his, making him look up.

"She told you about Tom within a week of knowing you; we hadn't been allowed to mention his name in months. In the few months she's known you she's become a whole new person, so much happier and stronger than we'd seen in so long. If she's going to tell anyone, it will be you. Clara might put on a front, but she's a very private person and rarely speaks to people about her feelings – family included. When she had Tom he was pretty much the only person she'd talk to, now she has you and I believe she needs you. I'll be here to support you; she'll only be trying to do everything for you otherwise, but talk to her Danny." He nodded, sitting up.

"Thanks, could you sort some breakfast for her? I'm going to sit upstairs if that's okay?" Grace agreed but stood up, helping him up back to the bedroom and on to the bed, leaving them to it. Clara stirred a few minutes later, looking around as she woke up before realising the time and sitting up quickly. "Relax Clara, I called you in sick," Danny told her to which she looked around at him, shocked. "Don't worry I phoned Adrian and he's on it. You need to rest today, something's not right love," he told her honestly. "What were all those dreams about?" As Clara opened her mouth to argue, Grace walked in with breakfast on a tray.

"Danny called me; I'm here to help out today so you can relax. Don't argue Clara," she told her, predicting her response, "he's worried about you – let him be. I know you want to talk, I can see it in your eyes," Grace put the tray down and kissed her head softly. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything," she left and Danny took his tea and food off the tray, putting it on the table beside him. Clara did the same, putting the tray down beside the bed before speaking.

"Tom," she spoke quietly, and Danny immediately understood. "It wouldn't go away; every time I fell asleep the dream came back."

"You wouldn't let me help," he responded, taking her hand. "I know I'm injured love, but I'm still your fiancé and I'm still here for you."

"You need your sleep, you need to rest." Danny shook his head.

"No, no Clara _you_ need to rest. I've been resting for the last week, you've been running yourself ragged and making yourself ill. It's not fair on you anymore; I'm not going to let it happen, I love you and I'm not watching you fall back again," he kissed her hand gently. "Eat up, relax, but talk to me Clara."

She didn't speak, not for a while. They lay there together in silence, eating breakfast and just relaxing a little for the first time in a while. Danny didn't want to push her to talk, but he was worried at how subdued she suddenly was. Adrian had text asking how she was, but he didn't even know how to respond so he left it for now. Clara was lying beside him, not quite on him but fairly close, staring at the ceiling mostly and clearly thinking things through in silence.

"It's like when I found him, walking in to the room and seeing him on the floor, all the pain in my head and surging through my body…" Danny went to move but she shook her head, sitting up. "You're there too Danny, you're both lying there and it's like I have to make a decision, like someone it telling me I can save one of you and only one of you, they're shouting at me to decide like the time is counting down in my head and I don't know what to do," as she spoke Clara didn't look at him once, almost as if she was unable to.

"How long?" Danny asked, although he was fairly certain he knew the answer.

"When you were in hospital," she responded and he nodded. "I was sleeping okay once you'd come home I guess, but they've come back…" Danny carefully wiped tears away from her cheek.

"You don't have to decide between us, you never have to decide between us and I will never ask that of you, nobody should. This has been plaguing you and you need to tell me about these things, I'm here to help, you've been suffering alone and I promised I'd never let that happen again." Clara leant in to his hand.

"I love you, I love you so much," she told him quietly and kissed his hand. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I…" she paused, staring again. Danny followed her gaze but there was nothing to look at.

"Clara?" He looked back, moving to be in her eye line. "Hey, what's wrong, Clara?" It took a few seconds before she moved. "That's not the first time that's happened," he told her.

"What are you on about?" she replied and kissed him gently but he seemed less than convinced, "please, let's just rest together. If you're going to make me bunk off school you can at least make it enjoyable." Danny sighed and nodded, accepting that was conversation over for now.

Grace stayed around all day, bringing them lunch and only leaving once dinner had been done and Clara had assured her all would be fine. Once they'd finished eating she grabbed the plates.  
"I'll go wash up; I really need to move around for a bit. You should answer Adrian too," Clara told him and Danny looked a little surprised. "I'm very observant you know, it's fine – talk to him," she smiled and kissed his cheek quickly before standing up. Danny picked up his phone and dialled Adrian's number and he answered fairly quickly.

"Danny is she alright?" he asked the moment he answered.

"She seems cheerier, but there're things to work through. I'll try and get her to ring you over the weekend," he replied before asking Adrian how things had gone at work.

Clara in the meantime had started to head downstairs. She'd stopped on the way, putting the plates down to check her own phone to see the time. Once she had an answer she grabbed the plates again and headed down the stairs. She'd made it about 2 or 3 steps when she suddenly stopped again, but this time she was mid step when it happened to horrendous consequences. Danny heard the crash from the bedroom while he was still on the phone.

"What was that?" Adrian asked, clearly having heard it too. "Danny?"

"I don't know, but I need to try and move now, stay on the phone, I just need two hands…" he put his phone in his pocket and pushed himself up, able to move reasonably once he was steady. Danny made it to the top of the stairs and immediately saw what had happened. "Clara!" he called and immediately pulled the phone out. "She's fallen down the stairs; call an ambulance I need to get to her. I'll hang up just please, get them here," he told Adrian and hung up the moment he had agreed. Danny had to lower himself down to go downstairs, carefully sliding down as he had done earlier that morning. Clara came round just as he reached her, looking around in confusion.

"Danny? What happened?" she asked, trying to sit up but immediately putting a hand to her head.

"I was hoping you might be able to answer that," Danny told her, sitting on the bottom step.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked, looking up at him concerned.

"I'm fine, honestly I am. What hurts?" he replied and took her hand gently.

"My head and my stomach," they both looked down and suddenly realised why there was such a pain there. "Danny…" he squeezed her hand tighter as they looked at the knife.

"It's fine, you're gonna be fine alright? Keep holding my hand, there's help on the way," he told her. As he finished speaking the door knocked. He called the code to the key box out so they could get in knowing it would be quicker than him going over to the door. A few seconds later and they were in, immediately studying the scene. "She fell down the stairs, I wasn't there I don't know what happened and she can't remember… please help her." Danny pleaded with them as Clara's grip on his weakened a little.

"What about you sir?" the younger paramedic asked as they knelt beside Clara.

"I collapsed a week or so back, these are old injuries, not important right now," he explained and they nodded.

They asked questions, but Clara couldn't answer most of them and it was clearly stressing her out. Danny didn't leave her, holding on to her hand while they examined her.  
"She's getting weaker, what's going on?" he asked, panicking.

"We need to get her in; we can't be sure what the knife has hit so we need to be careful, but her best chances are if we move quick. How's your mobility?" he asked as the other paramedic went to retrieve the trolley.

"A little dodgy to be honest, getting to here was… interesting," he sighed, hating to be a difficulty. "Take her if you need to, I can get a lift."

"No," Clara said quietly, squeezing his hand a little.

"Don't worry, we'll take Clara to the ambulance and bring the chair for you," and that's exactly what they did.

Adrian was waiting at the hospital when they arrived and took charge of Danny's wheelchair as they took Clara off to theatre immediately. One of the doctors showed them a room to wait in and sat down, asking Danny for some details.  
"How did she fall?" he asked.

"I don't know, she was just taking some plates downstairs but she can't remember what happened, she doesn't remember falling, just being on the stairs." Danny explained, trying to keep calm.

"Has anything like this happened before?" he asked and Danny shook his head before he suddenly realised something.

"Well, not like this, but…" he looked at Adrian who worked out where he was going with this and nodded, "she keeps having these episodes where she blanks out. It's weird, like she's daydreaming or something but she won't respond for maybe 10 seconds? Then she's back and it's like she doesn't know anything has happened." The doctor noted all this down.

"Has anything changed with her recently? Mood or personality?" he asked and Adrian answered.

"She's been shorter, less patient at work and with her friends, but she just puts it down to tiredness because she's dealing with Danny as well, I guess we were all too quick to believe her… something's wrong isn't it?" Adrian asked.

"I don't know yet, but it seems likely. We'll need to run some tests once she's out of theatre. I'll go and check on her progress now, thank you both for the information." Once he'd gone Danny let his barriers fall a little.

"Clara's strong, you know that right?" Adrian told him.

"Yeah, I'm just a little fed up of this place. It's not fair Adrian; she doesn't deserve any of this. When we met I promised her I'd look after her, make her life happier again and look where we are!" He sighed in frustration.

"Danny you have, you have done. Nobody could know this was going to happen, you can't predict the future. Yes it all seems a bit messy right now, but things will get better. You two were made for each other." Danny listened, but couldn't get something off his mind.

"She's been having dreams, bad ones," he started.

"Yeah, she was having them when you were in… I thought they'd gone?" Adrian asked.

"They had, but they've come back. She didn't tell me about them before, but I saw and… she sees both Tom and I on the floor in the classroom and she's being made to choose between us. It's really affecting her, she's scared to sleep and I think that's why she's so tired." He was lost now, unable to work out what he was meant to do.

"Listen Danny, I'm going to be honest with you now and this conversation never leaves these 4 walls, but if she really had to choose, I'd send her your direction every day. Tom wasn't the perfect person she makes out, but I would never deny her that thought. He was everything to her, and she to him – he treated her as such too and to the outside world their relationship was perfect. He and I however did not get on, although neither of us ever told Clara as such. He just couldn't grasp that I could love Clara as a friend and it made things difficult, so please don't think you're anything less because honestly I think you're wonderful." Danny didn't really respond, simply nodding. "Whatever this is you'll get through it Danny."

It seemed to be forever they were sat there waiting for news, just staring at the door and waiting for answers.  
"Clara's family?" A nurse finally came in to the room after what felt like forever. Adrian nodded, Danny was too nervous to move.

"We've just had a call from upstairs; they've taken Clara to ITU following her surgery. She's stable; their main priority now is looking at the cause of the fall but they'll give you more details upstairs. Let me take you up," she told them and they were both taken upstairs.

Danny sat at Clara's side, she'd just returned from the scanner and they were waiting on the results. He kissed her hand gently, holding it tight. It'd been a while but suddenly he felt a slight squeeze on his hand.  
"Danny?" her voice was quiet but he heard.

"I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere," he pushed himself up from the chair so she could see him better, managing to balance on his good leg. "You're okay love," he told her.

"Where am I?" she asked, looking around a little panicked.

"Intensive care, they want to keep a close eye on you. When you fell you landed on one of the knives, it caused some bleeding in your abdomen which they had to fix. Now they're worried about why you fell, can you remember anything?" Danny asked, having to sit back down again.

"No, I don't get it I was just walking and then I was at the bottom, I don't know what happened I…" she started to get distressed, sending her heart rate up and the nurse rushing in.

"Clara calm, it's okay. Look at me, look." He waited for her to turn her head, "we're looking after you and it doesn't matter if you can't remember. They're going to find out for us okay? It's alright." Danny kissed her hand softly and kept it close to him.

"Welcome back Clara," the nurse seemed a little happier as her heart rate dropped back and she took some obs. "You've got a dedicated one there – I'm hoping you'll persuade him to take some pain medication now."

"I've already told you I'm fine, they make me drowsy and I can't be drowsy now. It's alright." Danny turned back to Clara, stroking a thumb over her hand but she'd turned to him and raised her eyebrows. "What?"

"You're in pain?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine. Let's worry about you for once shall we?" Clara sighed and looked back up at the ceiling.

"Fine, but only because I'm too tired to argue," she told him and Danny nodded. "What happens now?"

"The doctor should be along shortly to speak to you about the results of your tests and-"

"He's already here," she was interrupted by a tall man in scrubs who walked in to the room. "Thank you Nurse Raymond, nice to have you back Clara – I'm Doctor Graham." He walked over, picking up her notes and checking things over. "We've had the results of your tests Clara; I think we know why you fell."

"What? What happened? Why don't I remember?" Clara asked, sitting up a little more.

"After speaking to your partner and you friend and given the results of the test I believe you've been experiencing what are called absence seizures." Doctor Graham told her.

"I've read about them, I thought they were only in children?" she asked. Danny almost wanted to laugh, of course she'd read about them, but he was more concerned than that.

"They are much more common in children, but it's not completely unheard of in adults. It would explain what I've been told about you blanking mid conversation, and why you don't remember falling – generally you don't remember the seizure itself." He explained, "there are treatments – medication we can give you to help prevent the seizures which should improve things for you."

"What's going to happen now?" Clara asked, squeezing Danny's hand a little tighter.

"We'll get the medication sorted. I'm happy to move you to one of the wards now we've stabilised your condition and there we can monitor you for the next 48 hours or so. If things are looking okay then you'll be able to go home," he smiled.

"No, I need to be home I have to look after Danny…" she tried to sit up but the nurse stopped her.

"Clara it's fine, Adrian's already offered to help. You need to stop worrying so much, that's what's got us here. Let people look after you my love, please?" he asked sincerely. Clara nodded eventually, accepting that she had little choice in the matter.

Danny spent most of the next 2 days at her side, Adrian dropping him in. He only had to hide once when Beth came in to visit; otherwise people had generally respected her wish to privacy. Clara herself hadn't been very communicative over the last few days, still coming to terms with everything that had happened. Danny tried to discuss it with her, but she refused to share very much about herself, only willing to discuss work or his own ailments. Eventually they allowed her out and home, convinced that she was no longer in any great danger but with strict instructions to go back if she had any symptoms. Adrian drove them home, only leaving once they were settled and Danny had convinced him they'd be fine.

"Clara you should get some sleep, I know you haven't had much while you've been in," he told her as he sat down on the sofa, leaning back.

"Says you, have you taken any pain medication whilst I've been away?" Clara asked him. Danny shrugged, "I knew it. I'm making tea, getting your medication and we can relax together. Deal?"

"Deal, as long as I can do dinner," he agreed, however Clara seemed sceptical. "I've done it for the last 2 days; I promise I'm fine babe." Danny kissed her quickly before she disappeared in to the kitchen.

"It feels so good to be back home," she called, "we can finally get back to normal."

"Like you'll ever be normal," Danny called back; Clara laughed and popped her head round the door.

"You cheeky sod, be lucky you're still injured or you'd be in trouble," she grinned and went back to finish making tea.

"Oh I could still take you," he responded. Clara appeared with two mugs a minute or so later.

"Sure about that?" she raised her eyebrows and sat down beside him, putting the mugs down on the coffee table. Danny leant over and poked her sides as she sat up.

"Heyy!" Clara squealed, wriggling a little. "You're mean!"

"I've had time to get stronger while you've been away," Danny winked at her and Clara chuckled, leaning in to him. He kissed her head softly, "I'm so glad to have you home."

"I need to tell you something," she told him as they lay there, his arm resting around her. "I know we talked about it before, but what we talked about with Tom, the wedding…" Clara sat up, moving so she was facing him.

"You don't have to talk to about this, it's okay," Danny told her, taking her hand and rubbing it gently with his thumb.

"No, I talked to someone at the hospital about the dreams," she explained, "I've not been the easiest to live with, I know that. This has all got on top of me, but I love you and you need to know." Clara put her other hand over his. "I never cancelled the honeymoon, I always told Tom I cancelled everything but I just couldn't bring myself to do it," Danny looked a little confused. "I phoned the company while you were in hospital, explained the situation. They told me we had the insurance to cancel… or change, so I changed it." Clara looked up at him, "I want you to come with me, for Christmas. Just the two of us, away from everything, it's just a holiday complex; we don't have to go anywhere we can just relax. I think we need this."

Danny smiled softly, "that sounds perfect, thank you, as long as you're sure? I know this meant a lot for you with Tom having organised it all."

"I'm more than sure; he wouldn't want all his hard work wasted and we need a break from all this," she turned round to sit back against him.

"All what?" he asked, a little confused. Clara lifted her phone up to reveal 34 texts from Adrian, "ah…"

"He's an overprotective soul, but he did only leave us an hour ago. How are you doing?" She asked.

"Lying on the sofa with my gorgeous fiancé with the prospect of 2 weeks in the sun? Yeah, I'm not bad," he smiled, kissing her head. "I do love you," he told her, smiling.


	18. Chapter 18

Flying out on holiday was a release for them both. Danny woke up to a small amount of sun peeking through the curtains in their hotel room and falling on to Clara who lay against him. She was so relaxed, the moment they'd arrived he'd seen the change in her – no cares, no worries, just the Clara he loved. She was still fragile; the scars of what happened weren't going to disappear that quickly, but now she could unwind. Danny's mobility was increasing every day and he was able to walk about on his own much easier now. He shifted himself to get up from the bed, making sure not to wake Clara as he made his way on to the balcony of their room. It was already around 23 degrees and the warmth was welcome with both of their injuries. He hated thinking about it, the way they'd both ended up here, but it was done now and they could only move forward.

Danny leant on the railings at the edge, looking out over the beach their room faced out to. It was empty at the moment, still early for the holiday makers to be up in general. The sea was calm, just lapping gently on to the white sand. He looked back over to Clara who was still asleep and smiled, going back in and changing quickly before heading down to the beach.

He left a note on the side, making sure she'd know where he'd gone, but there was something freeing about being able to head out here on his own – he'd barely left the house on his own recently. Danny sat down on the sand, stretching his legs out so the water was just covering his feet when it came in. He used his good arm to rest on mostly, just using the other for a little support and looking up at the clear sky. It was a week until Christmas, a day they would be spending here and a day Danny was incredibly nervous for – he had plans, big plans, he just needed to hope it worked out.

"Danny?" he was interrupted in thought around half an hour after he'd sat down and leant his head back to see Clara stood above him.

"You're upside down," he replied, smiling.

"You're frowning," she responded and he rolled his eyes, chuckling. Clara moved to sit down beside him. "You okay?" She leant over and kissed him quickly.

"Couldn't be more so, sorry the beach was just far too appealing and I woke early," he explained. "Did you sleep well?"

"Best I have in weeks, how come you woke early?" she asked, wriggling her toes a little in the water.

"I guess I was just rested, I slept well. Did you want to go for breakfast?" Danny sat himself up a little, his arm beginning to twinge from leaning on it.

"Sounds good," she stood up, helping him up and walking in to breakfast.

They spent the first day by the pool, the jet lag still affecting them both a little. Clara spent most of the day on Danny's lounger, lying on him and drifting in and out of sleep. Danny didn't sleep much, just watched Clara resting and enjoying the odd drink in between time.

When she woke on day 2, Clara found Danny already dressed with a bag in hand.  
"What are you up to?" she asked, grinning a little at the look on his face.

"I thought we could go for a beach day, I have our stuff together," he smiled, putting the bag down on the bed. "Might even chase you in to the sea if you're lucky."

"Like you'll ever beat me," she chuckled, "besides I'd much rather just lie on the beach and watch you splashing around." Clara sat up. "I'm off to shower, make sure you've got both my sandals!" she shouted while disappearing in to the bathroom.

They made it down to the beach after breakfast, claiming a pair of sun loungers.  
"Come on then, race you to the ocean," he stood up once they'd put their stuff down. "Granted I'm at a slight disadvantage with the whole weak leg thing…"

"Danny honestly, you go, I'll wait here," she told him. He stopped, turning to look at her, "what?"

"Why don't you want to go in love?" he asked, putting an arm around her waist.

"It's not that I," she turned to face him and he raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I don't like the sea, I've said it…" Danny sat down with her on the edge of her lounger. "When I was 10 I fell in the over sea, I was on holiday with my parents. I choked on the water and passed out. Ever since then I've never been able to go in the sea, other water is fine but I can't… I just can't. Whenever Tom and I went away we just avoided it, he tried to get me to go in but he never quite managed it," she told him, dropping her head.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of Clara, we all have those fears," he kissed her gently. "Come with me; just walk in to the waves, no more than where we were yesterday morning. You can hold my hand, both of them if you like, just let the water wash over your feet – that's all I ask." Danny stood up, holding his hand out for her. "Once we've done that we'll come back here, nothing more," he told her. Clara slowly took his hand, standing up and nodding.

They walked down the beach and Danny held her hand, letting her squeeze as much as she needed. They got to the edge, just their toes touching the water's edge.  
"Ready?" he asked. Clara took a deep breath and nodded, slowly taking a step forward. They went to ankle deep and Danny made sure to keep one arm around her and held her hand with the other. "That's alright isn't it? It's so calm, nothing to harm you and I'm right here." Clara nodded, smiling gently.

"Yeah, that's nice," she gently leant to rest a head on his shoulder, looking out at the ocean in front of them. They stood there for a few moments in silence, just listening to the sound of the waves.

"You wanna go back?" Danny asked after 10 minutes had passed. Clara nodded, lifting her head up and kissing him softly before turning back, heading back to the sun loungers where they lay down. "There we go, you survived!" Clara chuckled and nodded, turning on her side to face him. "You know that's not how these things work right?"

"Shut up you, I just wanted to look at you," she told him.

"You see me every day, there's a whole beach in the other direction," he grinned, turning his head to her."

"Not every day you're lying on a sun lounger with your top off though," Danny rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Thank you, for doing that with me, it means a lot," she told him.

"It's what I'm here for. Now sit back and relax," he told her, "I'll go and get us a drink."

The next day he persuaded her to go a little deeper, just a little further up her legs. They stood there for a few minutes again, Danny supporting her as she faced a fear. The following day they made it to knee height and Clara asked him to let go of her for a couple of minutes too. Eventually she grabbed his hand back, but it was progress.

"Can we go for a walk along the beach?" Clara asked as they made it back to the sand. Danny agreed and they started strolling along. "I don't know what to say anymore, I feel like I've told you I love you too much recently, everything you're doing for me it's so much," she told him. Danny stopped her, leaning down to kiss her softly.

"Says the woman who has taken me on holiday to the Bahamas for Christmas…" he grinned, running his hand through her hair, "I think we can call it quits."

"It's one thing bringing you on my honeymoon; it's a whole other thing helping me face such a huge fear. Sometimes I think you know me better than I know me," Clara lifted a hand to his cheek and stroked it softly," this holiday is proving that."

"I've known you less than 6 months, how can that possibly be true?" he asked, joining her hand and holding it gently.

"We've been through a lot together already; I've told you so much more than I can tell anyone. You've nearly died, I've got this stupid condition…" she sighed, but he lifted her chin up carefully.

"It's not stupid; it's just part of you now. It's under control, you're going to get better and I'm here to help you with that as much as you are for me. We both have our scars, mentally and physically, but we have each other and that's all that matters right?" Danny made eye contact with her and kissed her. "Right?"

"Right. You're always right, it's actually a little disturbing to be honest," she chuckled, kissing him back.

"You cheeky sod, I don't know why I bother," he picked her up, spinning her round as she squealed. "Why don't we go get changed for dinner?"

"It's only 4," Clara pointed out. Danny nodded, taking her hand as he placed her down.

"Might take us a little while…" he grinned and Clara raised an eyebrow, "what? Everything takes a while with a dodgy arm and leg."

"Sure thing mister," she laughed and they made their way back to the hotel.

Christmas day arrived a few days later and Danny was woken by Clara kissing him,  
"Mmm what time is it?" he smiled a little but didn't open his eyes.

"Just after 7," she replied.

"You're actually a little kid aren't you?" he replied, grinning. "It's so early."

"It's Christmas," she kissed him again, "and Santa's been."

"Santa… when and why did Father Christmas get Americanised?" Danny finally opened his eyes. "I prefer the green outfit – I think it slims him down." He sat up, Clara laughing at his response before leaning over and picking a present up from under the bed. "What's this then?"

"I told you, Father Christmas has been," she replied and handed it over. "Go on, open it."

Danny looked down, starting to peal the paper back. Inside was a box and he opened it to reveal a watch.  
"Clara it's beautiful…" he told her, taking the watch out from the box.

"You kept complaining about how your last one broke on camp, which was _kind of_ my fault so I figured I should probably sort that. You should probably turn that over," she told him, leaning her chin on his shoulder as he did.

 _25.07.14. The day you changed my life._

Danny looked up at her, a small tear in his eye. Clara leant forward and gently kissed the corner of his eye as it fell.  
"Soppy mare," she whispered, "I love you so much, this doesn't even explain how much, but it is something of me you can always have with you."

"What are you trying to do to me Clara Oswald," he asked, smiling, "I guess it's my turn?" Clara shrugged, "what?"

"I'm just happy to see you liked the watch," she replied.

"Oh really? Says the girl who woke me at 7am because it's Christmas," he raised an eyebrow. Clara shrugged again, but Danny just smiled and leant his side to pick up her gift. "I knew you were excited really," he told her as she grabbed it from him.

"Like you said, I'm just a little kid really," she replied and unwrapped the present. "Wait, how did you…?"

"I did some digging," he smiled, "I had a lot of spare time recently in case you hadn't realised."

"True, but Danny this is the same as the necklace my mother gave me," she couldn't stop staring at it.

"The one you lost in the hospital when you went to see Tom. It broke your heart even more to know you'd lost that, it was the last thing she gave to you." Danny took her spare hand, kissing it. "Let me put it on?" Clara nodded, a little speechless as he took it from the box. He carefully placed it around her neck, doing the clasp up blind before kissing her as they both held it. "Merry Christmas my love," he whispered before they kissed again, thanking each other.

They stayed in bed until lunch, going down for a Christmas dinner before heading out on the beach, walking down together.  
"I got you something else," Danny finally told her as they reached the water's edge. "What are you doing on July 25th 2015?" he asked.

"I don't know, celebrating the fact it's a year since our first kiss?" she asked, looking at him a little confused.

"That you will… fancy doing it in a church wearing a wedding dress?" he asked and Clara responded looking a little shocked, "it's all booked, I figured a year might be acceptable? And it's the beginning of the summer holidays so we can go on honeymoon straight after. The reception is booked too, that hotel you always go on about? Everything should be different to what Tom had planned; I didn't want it to be the same – that's something for you two to share. I… hope that's okay?"

Clara kept staring for a moment before suddenly hugging him tight and then kissing him, "this is perfect," she told him. "I love you so so much, and I guess that makes it 7 months till our wedding?"

"I guess it does," he picked her up.

"Careful!" she squealed as he held her, "your arm…"

"Oh I'm fine," Danny replied, "I'm more than fine." Clara kissed him.

"Put me down, please?" she asked and he agreed. The moment she was down, Clara grabbed his hand and started running in to the water.

"Woah! What are you doing?" he asked as they ran.

"Living," she replied, laughing as they went deeper and deeper until the water was up to her chest. They stopped there, Clara putting her arms around Danny's neck and kissing him once more. "I'm going under, you coming?"

Danny looked at her, unable to believe what he was hearing, but before he knew it Clara had dived in so he followed her. They both reappeared a little further in to the sea, grinning. Clara splashed him, ducking back under briefly as he tried to splash her back.  
"This is so much fun," Clara giggled and kissed him quickly. "Merry Christmas," she told him.

They made their way back to shore together, grabbing their towels off the sun loungers and drying off a little.  
"I can't say this is how I expected to spend Christmas day, but I'm certainly not complaining," Danny kissed her head gently.

"It's perfect, we can do traditional next year, right now this is exactly what I need," she let her towel go so she could hug him properly. "I love you so much," she kissed him; "I love you."

"You look tired," Danny told her, stroking her cheek, "you still need rest."

"How do you define rest?" she replied, grinning. Danny rolled his eyes, "alright alright, let's go for a lie down. Maybe on the balcony?" He nodded, taking her hand and led her back to their room.

They spent a day or two resting, sitting by the poolside mostly, taking in the sunshine and the time together. The holiday began to draw to a close, New Year's Eve came all too fast and they were on the plane home. Clara slept on his shoulder for most of the flight and Danny watched over her, unable to take his eyes off her as she rested. The 9 hours almost flew by and she only woke when they began to land.

"Oh hello there," Danny smiled as she sat up, "how are you feeling?"

"Like I just slept for hours in a slightly awkward position, but rested," she replied, "did you sleep?"

"Not… exactly, no," she looked a little disappointed at him.

"Danny you know we have the party tonight, you're going to be shattered," Clara told him, folding her arms.

"You were too beautiful, I couldn't shut my eyes," he told her, shrugging a little.

"You're one big chat up line Danny Pink," she grinned, uncrossing her arms, "but you'd better be good tonight because I can't deal with anymore grief from Linda, I still can't quite believe I agreed to this."

Danny took her hand, squeezing it gently, "hey, you'll be seeing your Dad and your Gran for New Year's, which is great isn't it?" She nodded, "there you go. I'll be there every step; we'll have a great time." Clara smiled, grateful for his support.

They made it home and just about had enough time to change before they left for her Dad's home, getting a taxi as they fully expected to both have a drink or two. It pulled up outside and Danny paid the driver before they climbed out.  
"You've got this, it's going to be fine – what harm can she really cause on New Year's?" he asked and Clara rolled her eyes.

"There are some things you still don't really know, but there's no going back now – let's go." Clara walked up to the door, ringing the bell and stepping back, slipping an arm round Danny silently while they waited. Soon enough her Dad answered the door and Danny felt her immediately relax when she saw it wasn't Linda.

"Clara!" he greeted her, "come on in, it's been far too long," she stepped inside and he hugged her, she kissed his cheek and then moved so Danny could come in too. "Nice to see you," he shook Danny's hand who returned the gesture accordingly. "I appreciate our last meeting wasn't the best, but I'm hoping we can change that."

"Sure, clean slate – sounds good to me," the last time he'd spoken to Dave was when Clara was in hospital, he was on holiday, and Danny wasn't going to start that argument again.

"Danny," she whispered when her Dad had taken their coats, "you promised me you were over that, they were on holiday – I had you, it was fine."

"It wasn't fine Clara, he's your Dad he-" she kissed him to shut him up.

"Wants to start a fresh, please try, for me?" Clara knew he wouldn't be able to resist her face and he sighed.

"Fine, fine I'm on it. Come on, let's go through," Danny told her, she smiled triumphantly and he rolled his eyes as they walked in.

Various people came up and said hello, Clara lost count of the number of times she'd explained how she and Danny had met, and she'd also lost count of how many people told her how much better she looked. It was beginning to get exhausting and when she found a chance, she escaped out in to the back garden. Danny managed to get away from being questioned by her Gran about the wedding when he realised she wasn't inside anymore. He spotted the slightly open door and went out in to the garden.

"Clara it's freezing out here," he put his arms around her, "come back inside, is everything okay?" Clara nodded, leaning her head back in to him, smiling.

"Just needed a break from everyone, I see you got away from my Gran," she chuckled, tilting her head back further to look up at him. Danny grinned, kissing her gently.

"She's _definitely_ making sure I'm doing right by you that's for sure. Now come on let's go back inside – it is nearly midnight after all." Clara kissed him again gently before taking his hand and heading back inside.

10 minutes later and the countdown was on. Danny and Clara stood in the back corner of the room behind most people having come in that bit later, but they didn't really mind.  
"New year, I'm going to make sure it's so much better for you than the last one," Danny told her as everyone else counted down.

"Oh I don't know, the end of this one hasn't been so bad," she replied, finishing off her wine and squeezing his hand.

"No, but the whole of next year is going to be so much better," he told her.

 _10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…_

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Everyone shouted, turning to greet each other. Danny and Clara turned to each other, linking eyes and kissing each other gently.

They only realised they were still going when they were interrupted by Linda's voice, "do they stop for air or what?" They separated a little, foreheads still touching for a moment before they turned to see her Dad and Linda stood looking at them.

"Sorry Dad," Clara had to turn back in to Danny to chuckle a little, he gently hit her arm to tell her off jokingly.

"I think what Clara means to say… is Happy New Year Dave," Danny greeted him, "Linda," he kissed her cheek politely. "I think I should probably get this one home," he told them as she continued to giggle. "Maybe one too many glasses of wine," he stroked Clara's hair back as she leant against him. "I think we might walk, everyone will be calling taxis at the moment and someone could do with it."

"You sure, it's at least half an hour and it's late," Dave asked him, "your leg?"

"Oh it'll be fine, much better now but thank you. I'll let you know we get home, thank you for tonight it's been lovely. Now come on missy, let's get you home," he nudged her up.

"Right yeah, home, bye Dad!" she hugged him and then stood up again, looking at Linda for a moment before turning away and taking Danny's hand, heading out in to the night.

They were about half way home, walking through the park swinging their hands when Clara stopped him and kissed him again.  
"Clara we need to get home," he told her. She shook her head, kissing him again, "you're tipsy, it's late, come on you let's get back." Clara pulled away, sitting down on the nearest bench and staring out over the lake in front of her. Danny sighed, sitting beside her. "Talk to me?"

"I feel so happy," she replied, "I don't want that to end, I don't ever want that to end," she told him, leaning on his shoulder.

"You've definitely had too much to drink," he told her, but Clara was adamant.

"No, no! Danny, I didn't have time to drink that much, yes maybe I'm a little bit tipsy but nothing more. This time last year I was in such a different place, I was happy, but I was happy with someone else. It all fell apart, but you've pulled me back together again. We've just had two wonderful weeks together, we spent Christmas on a beach, you've organised our wedding and taken in to account everything that's happened in the past. How did I get so lucky?" Clara kept staring at the water.

"I don't understand, you've had such a hard year, how would you say you're lucky?" he asked, rubbing her arm gently.

"Don't you see it?" Clara asked, looking up at him, taking his hand and interlocking their fingers, bringing them up between them. "Nobody else gets me like you do. I've just spent a whole evening with people who feel sorry for me and constantly give me sympathetic looks, you just see me for me. I tried so hard to push you away when we met but you never gave up on me, and you just stood there at new year telling me how you're going to make this year better for me – not for us – for me. You don't even see what you're doing, you're making me the woman I once was. When we ran in to the sea on Christmas day?"

"Yeah, you almost gave me a heart attack," he commented and she giggled.

"But that's just it, I used to love taking risks. I haven't felt like that in so long but suddenly, in that moment, I felt it again." Clara told him.

"You're such a control freak, how does a control freak take risks?" he asked.

"Carefully," she smiled, "I was scared of running in there, it was a risk, but I always knew you were right behind me." Clara kissed his hand gently. "I'm never letting go of you."

"Good, because you're stuck with me, but can you please be stuck with me at home?" he asked, grinning.

"You never stayed out all night, just watching the light change?" she asked, looking back out to the lake. "I used to do it every new year's eve with my Dad, before Mum died. She didn't like it mind, I would spend most of new year's day sleeping and we were usually meant to be visiting family, but Dad said it was something special, watching the moon travel and the sun rise." Danny watched her speaking and he couldn't help but smile and agree. Clara moved to rest her head against him once more, sighing contently. It was going to be a good year.


	19. Chapter 19

The holidays soon ended and they were both finally back to work. The first day back was a shock to the system – early start, out the house by 7:15. With Danny not able to drive they'd decided now was as good a time as any. They pulled up in the car park, thankfully it was empty – very few people were mad enough to arrive this early.  
"You sure about this? We can always escape separately now?" Danny told her, but Clara shook her head.

"We can't keep this up every day for the next 5 months; we have to tell people eventually… unless you want to wait?" she asked, realising he might be unsure.

"No, no I'm ready, I just didn't want to think that this thing," he pointed to the top left of his chest where the device sat, "is forcing us." Clara shook her head, leaning over to kiss him softly.

"It's the right time," she told him, "let's go." Clara got out the car and Danny joined her, both grabbing their bags from the back seat. She held her hand out and he took it, smiling. They made their way in to the school, walking through to the staffroom. "Coffee?"

"Sounds good, I'm going to run my bags so my room, shall I take yours?" he asked.

"Thank you," she smiled, kissing him quickly before walking over to the kettle, ignoring the looks from everyone else and flicking it on, grabbing their mugs.

"Something you want to share with the class?" Harry asked, walking over to her. Clara glanced round, smiling.

"Sorry, you want a coffee?" she asked and he rolled his eyes.

"You know full well that's not what I'm talking about," he replied. "You and Danny? When did that happen?"

"Oh that? We were engaged before he even started," she shrugged, making tea for her and coffee for Danny. Harry was still stood beside her looking a little confused when Adrian showed up.

"Am I hearing things, or is everyone talking about you and Danny?" he asked, looking at Harry's face.

"I just told him we were engaged before Danny started, I think it's still sinking in," she chuckled and Adrian rolled his eyes.

"How did I know that when you finally told people you'd just mess with their heads? You're a cruel person Clara Oswald," he told her. Harry looked at him now, "of course I knew, before you ask."

"We just didn't want to make a huge announcement out of it Harry, and I wanted Danny to be able to make his own impact without being 'the guy who replaced Tom'. We've kinda got to the point where we had to tell everyone now he can't drive and… well, there's a wedding to invite you all too." Danny walked back in then and she handed him coffee.

"Excuse me; does this mean you've set a date?" Adrian asked when Danny leant against the counter by her.

"It does, I'll tell you later, in fact I need to talk to you about that properly but now isn't the time. There are some people who probably aren't going to take this quite so well…" she nodded over at Beth who had just walked in and was already headed in Danny's direction. Harry nodded, leaving them to it.

"You're looking great! Welcome back," Beth walked over and hugged him to which Danny looked a little confused. "You've been missed, but hey you got a super long Christmas, you're looking very tanned, been away?" Clara turn to face Adrian at this point, struggling not to giggle. He shook his head at her but had to smile a little.

"Yeah, lovely two weeks in Barbados," he smiled, "did you have a nice Christmas?"

"Yes thanks," Beth turned to Clara, "good to see you back as well, you're looking tanned too! Clearly illness has treated you both kindly, if you get what I mean. Where have you been?"

"About that…" Clara started, turning to look back at her and looking at Danny. She took a step towards him, taking his hand. "We went together. We've actually been together for just over 5 months," Beth took a step back, "I'm sorry Beth, I know-"

"No I don't think you do," she replied and walked out. Clara shook her head, letting go of Danny's hand.

"Clara this isn't your fault," he told her, "we did this for a good reason, you know it was the best for both of us," Danny kissed her head but she moved away.

"I need to go and talk to her; I'm supposed to be her mentor. I'll let you answer everyone else's questions," Clara smiled briefly before heading out after Beth.

Unsurprisingly she'd made her way to her classroom and Clara knocked lightly before heading in. Beth didn't look up at her, instead looking at a lesson plan on her computer.  
"Why didn't you say something?" Beth asked. Clara stayed by the door.

"This whole journey has been difficult for me Beth; opening up to someone after Tom was not easy by any means and Danny did a lot for me, but he got the job here before we met and I wanted him to be able to make his own influence. Then he got sick and it wasn't right then and… well, here we are. I'm sorry, I really am, I never wanted to hurt anyone with this. Danny did try and let you off…" she explained. Beth shut her laptop, nodding a little before turning to face her.

"He's the reason you've been so happy, why you cheered up over the summer?" Beth asked. Clara nodded, "nobody could do that, not even your family, not even Adrian." Clara nodded again. "Is that a new ring?" Beth had clearly spotted her hand.

"Oh, yeah I guess I'm wearing this now," Clara told her, "it happened during the summer too, I know it seems quick but-"

"You guys are clearly made for each other," Beth smiled and stood up, "it's just a bit of a shock, but I'm really happy for you. Can I see?" Clara walked over to her, holding her hand out. "Oh my word it's beautiful! He has a fantastic taste, I'm quite impressed."

"Given he'd only known me a few weeks I was quite impressed he got the size right to be honest," she chuckled. "Hey, we good?" Clara asked.

"Of course we are," Beth replied, hugging her quickly. "We should get back, staff meeting soon after all."

They made their way back and Clara went over to Danny, picking her tea back up and confirming everything was fine with him. They sat down ready for the meeting and she rested her head on his shoulder.  
"I told you we should've got an earlier night," he grinned and she shrugged, playing with his fingers. "I also thought we were being professional at work?"

"Yeah, but I'm tired so that's gone out the window," she told him, sipping at her tea, "does everyone know now?"

"I did a general announcement while you were out with Beth, made life easier," he told her and she nodded. "Are you okay?"

"Quite perfect thank you," she lifted his hand to kiss it gently.

"Oh you two are never gonna stop now are you?" Adrian groaned as he sat down. "Dear gosh help me." Clara rolled her eyes and turned back to look to the headmaster as the meeting began.

When lunchtime came around Clara went straight to Adrian's room, waiting for his class to leave before she went in.  
"Well well, still in the building at 12:30?" he grinned.

"Yeah well, Danny's busy and I need to talk to you – plus, we don't exactly have to leave school to talk anymore," she pointed out, shutting the door behind her. "I need to ask you a question," she jumped up to sit on the edge of his desk.

"Shoot, I'm listening – I just need to finish this," he told her, pointing at his computer screen.

"Fair enough, well, Danny should really be having this conversation but after a _lot_ of tickling and screaming-"

"-too much information!" he stuck a finger up to stop her and she chuckled.

"Fine, but here's the thing – Danny wants you to be his best man for the wedding. I did say that you're my best friend and I should claim you for maid of honour, but he informs me you might not suit the dress so… best man?" she asked, kicking his leg gently to get him to look up.

"I don't get it, surely he has a friend or family member?" he asked.

"Yeah I did try that, but he lived in foster homes so there's no family and apparently he started a new life here so actually, he considers you pretty much his closest friend too," Clara told him. "So, will you? I'm sure you can organise a pretty good stag do."

"Oh I certainly can," he grinned and stood up. "There's just one condition," he told her. "I still get to come dress shopping with you," she raised her eyebrows, "like you weren't going to make me?" Clara chuckled and nodded, jumping off the desk to hug him.

"Am I interrupting?" Danny's voice came from the door and Clara's head spun round.

"Bloody hell it's like a mouse to cheese," Adrian let her go as she ran over to him.

"I take it you agreed then?" Danny asked as Clara hugged him.

"By the way you're getting squeezed is there any other conclusion? Honestly you've set yourself up to live with an 8 year old child," Clara rolled her eyes as she stood up properly.

"Look if this arrangement is going to be a way for you two to make fun of me I'm not sure how happy I am about it," she pointed out.

Adrian gave her a soppy look. "Would we ever do anything like that?" he asked and she gave him a knowing look. He nodded to Danny and they somehow both knew what the other was thinking as Danny grabbed her shoulder and Adrian lifted her legs up.

"Oh my gosh what are you doing?!" she squealed as they swung her a little.

"Am I missing something important?" Mr Armitage interrupted and they quickly put her down and all stood up, Clara straightening her hair out.

"No, no nothing at all, we were just…" Danny started.

"Long story short? These two were being horrible to me. Short story long? Danny and I are getting married and Adrian's going to be his best man," Clara told him.

"I… can't say that's exactly what I was expecting to come out of your mouth just then, but I suppose congratulations are in order?" he shook all their hands.

"Thanks, just maybe keep the best man thing quiet for now?" Mr Armitage nodded at Adrian's request and backed out smiling. Only once he was out and the door was shut did they all burst out laughing and Clara hit them both gently on the stomach,

"One of you will be the reason I get fired, honestly," she joked and grinned, "speaking of which, I still need to speak to Jasmine about her next lesson before she confuses the year 8s to death so I will love you and leave you," Clara smiled, kissing Danny quickly before running out.

The guys were left in the room together, a little shocked at the events of the previous few minutes.  
"She hasn't been that bubbly in a very long time, you're doing a good job my man," Adrian patted Danny's arm as he made his way back to his desk.

"Aren't you my man now?" Danny asked, pointing a finger as he did. "I'm going to need a lot of advice; I want to make sure this is everything she wants."

"Yep, and my job is to make sure this is also everything you want, because the first thing you should realise about Clara is that she will always put you first, therefore I will never be forgiven if I don't do that – and you do not want to be on the wrong side of her," Adrian replied.

"Oh I've been there, it wasn't pretty," Danny chuckled, "thanks Adrian, this means a lot."

"Anytime, but I have one question – when actually is it?" he asked.

"July 25th, sorry I probably interrupted the part where she was going to tell you that. I'll email you over all the details if you want?" Adrian nodded, "great, I'd better get going. See you later?"

#-#-#

"I'm home, sorry!" Clara called as she came in through the door at the end of a long week. Adrian had given Danny a lift home when she got stuck in a meeting with a pupil and their parents over an incident that happened earlier in the day. "That went on forever and we still don't really know what happened," she hung her coat up and went through to find dinner on the table. "How did you know I'd be back…?"

"I got Beth to text me when you were leaving, you know she's pretty keen on making up for how she was," Danny smiled and kissed her gently. "This is for surviving today; I know you were actually nervous about everyone finding out."

"So would you not have made me dinner if I hadn't?" she asked cheekily, "sorry, I'm in a really weird mood today aren't I?"

"I hadn't noticed," he replied, winking before moving the chair out for her to sit down. "How'd it go anyway?" Danny asked as they started to eat.

"Jamie said pretty much nothing; her parents on the other hand were incredibly vocal on how their precious daughter couldn't do something like this so all in all, just another day in paradise and another exclusion on the books. I don't know what the supply did with this class while I was away but it's certainly undone a lot of hard work," she told him.

Danny leant over and rubbed her hand softly. "You'll get them back, you're a good teacher Miss Oswald," he replied before sitting back and continuing the meal.

"I do my best, how was your day?" she asked him. "This is delicious by the way."

"Why thank you," he replied, "it wasn't too bad – lots of numbers you know how it goes," Clara chuckled a little.

"Last time I came in to your classroom there were more letters on that board than on mine," she pointed out.

"I can teach you algebra if you really want?" Danny grinned, finishing up his meal.

"You'd be surprised what I already know," she winked and stood up, picking up the empty plates. "Anyway, story for another day, grab a tea towel mister."

Clara felt less than perfect when she woke on Saturday morning. Danny was still asleep when she looked over so she slid out from him carefully, grabbing her dressing gown and wrapping it around her before going downstairs. She made tea and sat down on the sofa, flicking the TV on and curling up for warmth. Clara sipped at the tea mindlessly watching the TV before she suddenly had to get up and run to the sink.

"I really hate kids sometimes…" she complained as she leant against the counter.

"Hey what's going on in here?" Danny's sleepy voice asked before he observed the scene in the kitchen. "Oh gosh are you okay?" he walked over and brushed her hair back from her face.

"Mmm… probably some bug from school that's all, I'm sorry," she leant in to him and Danny wrapped his arms around her.

"Let's get you back to bed darling," he kissed her head, "I guess I'll just have to look after you." Danny supported her back up to the bedroom and lay her down. "Can I get you something? Water?" Clara shook her head.

"Just you, you're good," she lay against him, "you know I'm going to make the most of this right?"

"Oh I know," Danny replied, kissing her head again, "sleep, you look like you need it."

"Flattery will get you everywhere," Clara muttered before she dropped off.

Danny didn't move, turning the TV on quietly but keeping one eye on her. A couple of hours later his phone started flashing – he'd put it on silent a little while before just in case. He leant over carefully, picking it up from the side before answering.  
"Adrian?"

"No need to whisper, is everything alright? Clara asked me to call this morning but she's not answering," Danny smiled a little – Adrian really was Clara's best friend.

"She's a little sick this morning, slept for the last couple of hours," Danny told him.

"Sick how? She seemed alright yesterday?" Adrian asked, sounding concerned.

"I don't know, she woke up before I did and I found her after she was sick, probably just a bug from one of the kids – perils of the job. Can I help with anything?" Danny stroked her cheek softly as she stirred a little.

"Nah its fine thanks though. Get her to give me a call when she's feeling better?" he asked.

"Sure, thanks mate," Danny told him before hanging up. "What you up to hm?" Danny asked Clara rhetorically, smiling down at her. "You're so adorable when you're asleep, in the least creepy way I love watching you, ever since that first night on camp," he kissed her forehead gently, "I can do that now though."

"Yes you can," she whispered before flicking her eyes open, "but I prefer you doing this," she lifted her head just a little so their lips touched. "How long was I asleep?"

"Just over 2 hours, how're you feeling?" he asked and moved so she could sit up.

"Better, maybe I just needed that sleep. Have you eaten?" she asked, "you haven't have you? Right – let's get an early lunch." Clara stood up, but went a little dizzy as she did and sat back down. "Well, it must be your turn to make food anyway," she told him.

"Mmm, come on; let me help you downstairs and you can get settled on the sofa. Adrian wanted to speak to you as well but no rush if you're not right," he told her. Danny walked around and helped her up, making sure she was steady before they moved. It was slow progress but they did eventually make it downstairs and he sat her down on the sofa. "What do you want for lunch then?" he asked. Clara wasn't actually all that hungry now, but she didn't want to say as much.

"Surprise me," she replied, settling back, "just don't burn anything." Clara smiled and Danny smiled, going in to the kitchen. Once he was out of the room she grabbed her laptop off the table and sat back with it, going through some emails she'd not got round to doing yesterday. There was a stream from teachers informing her about Jamie's behaviour that she needed to go through and file together for the exclusion statement and she also had a fair few from Jasmine asking for advice.

"Oi, you should be resting," Danny came out from the kitchen.

"Like I have time to rest," she replied, "I need to sort this stuff out. I'm fine, honestly." Danny didn't look convinced, but got back to finish up the lunch.

A few moments later he heard a scream from the lounge and ran in to see Clara throw her phone at the wall, her laptop already back on the table.  
"Woah what's going on?! Clara?" he went over to go and pick up her phone.

"No! Leave it!" she shouted at him. "Please Danny, please leave it."

"What is this?" he went over to the sofa and knelt on the floor beside her. "Clara what the hell is this?"

"Nothing, it's nothing," she sighed, "I need a walk."

"Tough, you're not well enough to go outside alone. Whatever this is it's making you upset and I don't like that, show me Clara," he kept eye contact with her.

"Open my laptop," she replied, pulling her knees up to her chest. Danny did as she suggested and looked at the email on her screen.

"What's this?" he asked, looking at the email in front of him.

"I don't know, I don't know who it is," she told him, "but someone's watching us."

Danny put the laptop down and quickly pulled her in to a close hug, kissing her head as she sobbed in to his shoulder.  
"Calm down, it's okay, we'll call the police – they can find these things out," Clara pulled away from him at that and shook her head. "Clara we need to."

"Please, no. No police," she told him. Danny looked confused at her, "I can't."

"Alright, no police, but we can't ignore this," he told her. Clara sighed, leaning her head forward. "I need to phone Adrian back," she stood up and picked up her phone, "it's lucky this thing is indestructible." She left before he could argue, going out in to the garden as a compromise so he would be able to see her but not hear her.

"Clara! You wanted to discuss a party?" Adrian answered cheerfully.

"Not now, we have a problem and it goes by the name of Joel," she replied, sighing.

"What? I thought you hadn't heard from him since the funeral?" Clara had his attention.

"I hadn't, but he's emailed me. Somehow he knows about Danny and he's followed us, he sent a picture saying I was a traitor and he'd stop me from making a huge mistake. It was anonymous but I know it's him Adrian, it has to be, the way the email was phrased it sounded like him…" she ran a hand through her hair. "I told Danny I don't know who it was but I don't know what to do."

"I could call him?" Adrian suggested, but Clara was quick to dismiss that idea.

"No, he hates you Ade that's not going to help," she sighed, "I need to go there."

"Clara you need to tell Danny," he told her.

"No, no I don't. I never told him about Joel and if he knows who it is he'll go after him – it'll be messy and I just can't. I have to go myself, alone," Clara replied.

"You are not going alone. I'll drive you if you're that determined, but not today – you're not well and Danny would never forgive me, I can't imagine he's going to be too happy about this as it is."

"Yeah, well maybe he doesn't need to know. I'm gonna get back inside it's cold out here, but just… watch out, if he's going for me, you never know…" Clara sighed.

"If he comes anywhere near me I'll punch his lights out," Adrian replied, "now get in the warm, I'll come round tomorrow if you're well enough."

"I will be. I need to sort this out, sooner rather than later," Clara told him, hanging up and making her way back inside.


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm sorry... :)**

6:34am. Clara hadn't slept, but she'd managed to pretend enough to convince Danny she was so he did sleep. She'd had 6 hours to think over what was going on and she had made a decision so she climbed out of bed, pulling on her jeans and a jumper before grabbing her phone and car keys off the side before making her way downstairs. She made her way out to the car, going through each door quietly so as not to wake Danny who was still sound asleep.

She sat outside Joel's house for an hour before she saw movement. He'd always been a morning person so she knew he'd be up early. She kept reading the email over and over, getting angrier the more she did. As soon as the curtains in the lounge were open she jumped out of the car and stormed to the door, banging on it.

"Alright alright I'm coming!" she heard his voice and her hands clenched in anger at the sound of it. The moment the door opened she took a step forward and slapped him. "Woah Clara! What the hell?!"

"Leave us alone. I don't know what you're getting out of this but it's not funny," she told him, but he still looked confused.

"I don't understand, I haven't seen you in almost a year?" he replied, slightly nursing a stinging cheek.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! This is stupid, I thought you'd grown out of all this!" she told him and thrust her phone in his hand. He looked down at it and read through the email.

"Clara, this wasn't me," he told her, "I swear this wasn't me, I know my past with you is far from ideal but I would never disrespect what you went through, nor would I disrupt any happiness – I know you deserve it," Joel handed her phone back. "Clara I did love you, I did and I won't lie about that but that was then, this is now and I don't know who this is." Clara stared at him for a moment before realising he was telling the truth and took a step back, leaning against the wall just inside his door and sliding down it.

"I'm so sorry," she cried and Joel went over, kneeling in front of her.

"Clara what's going on? This has really rattled you, do you have any idea who else it could be?" he asked. "Someone has photos of you and this guy who I presume is your new partner? They're threatening you Clara, you need to call the police." She shook her head, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"Danny doesn't need this, he doesn't deserve this. I can't put him through the stress, I'll just tell him I found them and it's sorted. I can deal with it myself, no police," Clara told him and took a deep breath before standing up, but as soon as she did she went dizzy again. Joel managed to catch her.

"Right you, I'm getting you in the lounge and we're calling Danny to come and pick you up," he told her, helping her through.

"No, no Danny can't drive, he's ill he can't… that's why I can't let him get stressed," she sighed, "just give me a few minutes and I'll be fine."

"You are not driving home Clara, no way I can't allow it," Joel helped her sit down. "I'll get you tea, then I'll drive you home myself. Drop you at the door, I won't come inside – promise. In fact I'll drive your car and walk back, that way it won't be left here." Clara couldn't argue anymore, just nodding and leaning back on the sofa while he went and boiled the kettle.

 _Where are you?_ Clara looked down at her phone as Danny's text came through. She took a moment before picking it up, replying simply.

 _I'll be back soon x_ No explanation, but hopefully enough to keep him quiet for now. She stuck her phone in her pocket and looked up as Joel reappeared with tea. "Thank you, I'm sorry Joel…" she took the mug from him.

"Don't be, I can see why you'd think it was me. You do need to find out who this is though," he replied. Clara nodded, sipping at her tea. "You can't do this alone."

"I can, I will. I'll be fine, I usually am," she tried to smile reassuringly.

Joel shook his head, "listen, I know I won't be able to change your mind right now, but when you realise I'm right you can ring me," he reached over and picked a card up off the table, handing it to her.

"How posh," she replied, studying the card, "moving up in the world?"

"Just helpful, I'm serious – call me if you need to," he told her, "no strings, just a friend Clara."

She didn't respond, just slipped the card in to her pocket and continued drinking tea. About half an hour later she stood up and Joel took the hint, following her out. He did drive her home, parking up on the drive.  
"Thank you," she replied, climbing out of the car and walking round, taking the keys from him.

Joel nodded, "it's fine, and don't be a stranger if you need someone." He told her, waving as he headed off back down the road on foot. Clara watched him walk off before finally going inside the house. Danny appeared in the hall before she'd even got the door shut.

"Hey what's going on?" he held her loosely, looking up and down, "you've been crying."

Clara took a moment to consider her reply before responding, "I found him, the guy that sent that message. I sorted it, he's gone now," she hated lying, but it was better this way.

"That's good isn't it?" Danny asked, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Yeah, it is, it was just really hard… facing something from the past. It's done now though," she told him, smiling gently and hugging him, "breakfast?" Clara shrugged her coat off, hanging it up and making her way through to the kitchen.

The next few weeks passed without incident. School was as straight forward as it never was, but they made it through together as they always did. More emails came through, but Clara hid them from Danny. She started noting things down, trying to work out who it could be. There were more threats, but nothing that seemed realistic and she started to be able to push it by for now, acting like everything was okay. It almost seemed easier Danny not knowing, he was able to distract her. It was Thursday night and Clara had just got home from yet another after school meeting, getting in to find Danny cooking dinner. She dropped her bag on the sofa and walked in, wrapping her arms around him from behind and kissing his neck gently.  
"Hello you," she smiled, but he didn't respond, "hey what's up?" she asked.

"I had a visitor tonight," he told her, still facing the oven where he was stirring something on the hob.

"Oh?" Clara asked, letting go of him and moving to stand beside him, only now seeing his face. "Your cheek?!" she immediately went in to inspect it, but he stepped back. "Danny, please let me look…" she took his hand carefully. "What happened? Who came? Did they do this?"

"No, I was just so upset I hit myself in the face," Danny replied sarcastically and Clara sighed, letting go of his hand.

"I'm just trying to help Danny, why are you being like this?" she asked him.

"Because you lied!" he finally shouted. Clara jumped a little at this, shocked at his response.

"I was sorting it, I didn't want you to stress and I had no idea they'd do this!" Clara didn't know what to do; she just stood there looking at him. "I'm sorry, I thought I knew who did it but I was wrong…"

"Stop lying!" he shouted; now she was confused.

"I'm not, I got it wrong…" she tried to explain, but he wasn't having any of it.

"You were round his house for over an hour Clara! And you lied about it!" Clara couldn't understand, why would Joel tell him? Only then did she realise what must have happened.

"No Danny, no you've got this all wrong," she told him, taking a step forward, but he took another step back and pulled a photo out of his pocket, throwing it at her.

"You can't deny it anymore!" he told her. Clara picked up the photo from where it had landed, shaking her head as she saw. It had been taken through Joel's front window and showed him helping her through to the sofa, but she could see why it could be taken very differently.

"Danny no," she replied, "no you're getting this all wrong. Who came to see you today?"

"I've no idea Clara, I've no bloody idea but he told me all about this little thing and when I tried to defend you this happened!" he pointed to the cut on his cheek, "he gave me the photo and left. So I hope you're happy, enjoy dinner." Danny told her, walking away.

"No you need to listen to me!" Clara tried to follow him but he ran and before she knew it he'd disappeared from sight. She went back in to the house, turning the oven off and picking the photo back up, staring at it for a moment before screaming and screwing it up, throwing it at the wall. She went to grab her phone to call him, but quickly realised Danny's was still on the side. Instead she ran upstairs and found Joel's card that she'd put in a drawer, dialling the number.

He was round within 10 minutes. Clara told him to let himself in which he did, running in to the lounge where she was curled up, staring at the picture lying on the floor.  
"What happened?" he asked, following her gaze, "can I?" Clara nodded and he walked over, picking it up and uncurling it to see the picture of them. "What the hell is this?"

"Whoever is doing this, they showed that to Danny…" she started, taking a few deep breaths as she tried to keep calm, "they hurt him, hit him, told him to stay away from me and then showed him that. They told him I've been cheating, the evidence is there I don't blame him for believing them but I couldn't get him to listen, I need to explain," she couldn't think straight.

"Clara I'm so sorry, I had no idea…" he stood up, walking over and sitting beside her.

"It's not your fault, I just need to work out who this is, I need to stop them," she wiped her eyes, grabbing her laptop and opening it. "I've put everything together, all the messages, but I don't know. It has to be someone who knew Tom and I, someone who could be this angry that I've moved on…" she sighed, staring at the document she'd put together.

"None of this makes sense, why now? You said you'd been together over 6 months. Who has found out about you recently?" he asked.

Clara scoffed, "everyone…" she sighed a little after, "we only told everyone after Christmas. The only people that knew before were my family and Adrian, anyone else has found out in the new year, so it doesn't really narrow it down."

"Is there anyone at work?" he asked; "I assume you're still at Coal Hill?" she nodded.

"No, no everyone loves Danny, that's why we did this the way we did. School is ruled out, but I don't get who else it could be, outside of school I barely have a life let's be honest here," she smiled a little in an attempt to lighten the mood a little.

"If you're sure it's not someone from work, then it must be someone outside work. Can I look at something?" he pointed to her computer and she nodded, handing it over. Joel started going through her Facebook. "You posted a picture from your holiday just before this started, look," he turned the laptop to face her and she shrugged, nodding.

"Well everyone knew so I figured that was allowed," she explained, "why?"

"I know you claim to have no life outside work, but I would guess that not everyone on here is a colleague?" Joel opened up the picture further, looking through the likes and comments.

"Well no I guess not..." Clara replied, "what are you thinking?"

"You need to go through your friends list, it might give you some answers," he handed the laptop back. Clara took it but put it down on the table, her head in her hands.

"I need Danny back, he can't think I've done this, I need to find him," she stood up, grabbing her keys off the side.

"Clara you can't drive like this," he told her, "let me..."

"If I turn up with you there will that really help the situation? You need to go Joel, in case he turns up you can't be here. I have to do this myself," she told him.

"Because that went so well last time?" he replied and she looked up angrily. "Just saying Clara, you can't do this alone." Joel told her before leaving. Clara watched him go before leaving the house herself, climbing in the car and starting to drive anywhere she could think he might be,

It must have been hours she was driving before she ended up back home, still no closer to finding him. Clara walked through the door, calling out in case he had turned up but there were no signs. It was getting dark outside, cold too and he hadn't taken a coat. She checked her phone again, not sure what she expected to see. Clara scrolled through her contacts again, eventually calling Adrian. She explained what happened, crying down the phone. Adrian drove round, letting himself in and immediately hugging her. "You should have told me Clara, I understand why you didn't want to tell Danny but why not me?" Clara hugged in to him like she hadn't done for months.

"I don't know, I didn't want any of you to worry, I thought I'd work it out and it'd be fine. I was so sure it was Joel at first, I was so convinced, but I was wrong," she told him. A few seconds later, Clara sat up and grabbed her laptop. "Joel said he thinks it could be one of my Facebook friends. I posted a picture once everyone knew, well, you saw, he thinks whoever this is saw that and that's how they know, that's why they're angry. It still doesn't make sense, but it might help me find out who did this," she told him.

"Wait, step back, why would Joel see your Facebook?" Adrian asked.

"He doesn't, at least not in the way you're thinking. I called him after Danny left, he came up with the theory, had a look through and saw the picture, he suggested I look through my friends but I went looking for Danny instead, maybe he's right, maybe this is the answer," she clicked through to the list.

"Am I hearing this right? Did you really call over the man your fiancé walked out over round the moment he'd left?!" Adrian asked, really confused over her actions.

Clara looked up at him, "I wasn't thinking, but there's nothing going on Adrian! He knew about the messages, well the first one, he was the only person I could think of. He's changed, it wasn't him, he just wanted to be a friend Ade."

Adrian sighed, nodding, "we can't change that now, let's look through this together an see if we can work it out."

They scrolled through, ruling people out (and deleting a few unnecessary friends at the same time). Adrian got up to make tea after a little while, leaving Clara on the sofa. He was just stirring the mugs when Clara shouted through. "Adrian I think I know who it is," she replied. He ran through and she pointed at the screen.

"Fraser? Tom's brother?" he asked, "how did you work that one out?" Adrian quickly went back in and grabbed the mugs, bringing them out and handing her one.

"I didn't, not straight away, but something drew me to his page, and that linked me through to his twitter and... well, look at this," she changed the screen and Adrian read what was on there.

 _Letting down the one you love is bad enough, throwing it in their face? Even worse._

That wasn't all.

 _You deserve everything you get, my brother deserved better._

Clara kept scrolling, showing him the latest tweet from this morning.

 _You'll pay for this. You'll lose him too._

She slammed the lid of her laptop shut, putting it on the table. "I don't get why he's so angry at me! I didn't do anything to him!" She screamed, kicking out.

"Clara, relax, don't go back there again. Look at me," he grabbed her arm and forced her to turn to him. "We're going to sort this, we're going to stop him and get Danny back home, but you need to relax." He kept making eye contact with her until she calmed, waiting for her to nod. "Much better. Now look, it's getting late. You need to sleep, we all have work tomorrow - Danny will be there and I will talk to him - you stay away. Once he's on side, then we focus on Fraser. I know he's watching, but he can't be inside the school and he can't hear us, so just keep calm."

"I wish it was that easy," she sighed.

"I know, but we will get through this. Now come on, bed," he told her, "I'll stay if you want?" Clara nodded.

"The spare bedroom is made up. Thanks Adrian," she stood up, making her way upstairs and taking both hers and Danny's phones up with her.

She didn't sleep, how could she? But she did lie in bed and scroll through Fraser's social media sites, making notes on everything that might help explain. He'd been a big support to her immediately after Tom's death, coming round frequently to check on her, even doing shopping for her. He couldn't stay forever though, eventually moving back to Liverpool where he worked. She stopped talking to him as she did with everyone when she retreated, and recently she hadn't really thought about him at all. None of Tom's family spoke to her anymore, she'd just accepted how it was. Clara kept going through and realised something - just as this had started he had also started hiding his location on all this posts. "Oh Fraser what are you doing?" she sighed, continuing through until morning.

Adrian left for work early, leaving Clara to wait just in case Danny arrived home before going in, but he didn't. She sat in the living room, watching out the window, uneasy knowing Fraser was probably out there but trying not to focus on that. Eventually she got a text from Adrian telling her Danny had arrived there so she left, grabbing her bag on the way out. Adrian had taken Danny's bag, it was easier than her trying to approach him until he'd spoken to her.

Back at the school, Adrian had watched as Danny walked into the staffroom, made coffee and walked straight back out. Only then did he stand up, heading over to his classroom - this needed saying in private. He knocked on the door and Danny looked up, sighing on sight,

"I have your bag," Adrian told him, walking in and placing it down, shutting the door on the way through. "Where did you go last night?" he asked.

"Hotel, not that it's any of your business," Danny didn't look up, "thanks for the bag."

"Do you really think Clara would ever do this to you?" Adrian asked, "she's the most loyal person I know."

"I didn't, not until I saw the proof. I was fighting her corner until he showed me the photo," Danny replied, a tinge of anger in his voice.

"And what did you see in the photo?" Adrian pulled it out, laying it on the table, but Danny brushed it straight off. He picked it up, putting it back again, "just look Danny, what do you see?" Eventually he gave in and Danny turned away from his computer, looking at the picture.

"They're falling back on the sofa, he's embracing her, what more evidence do you need? She lied to me about where she'd been, she lied to me about this being sorted. Except she didn't, she did sort it, by sleeping with him!" Danny scrunched the photo up in anger, but Adrian pulled it back from him and lay it flat once more.

"He's helping her to the sofa, she nearly collapsed in the hall after she'd burst in and accused him of sending that email. She was wrong, it wasn't him. His name is Joel, he used to work at Coal Hill and he fancied Clara and used to hassle her a lot, especially once her and Tom got engaged. That's why she thought it was him, but she was wrong this time. You're both being played Danny," he told him. Danny looked up at him, "she didn't want to worry you, either of us, she was trying to deal with it herself, but then this happened." Danny suddenly looked shocked, realising the assumption he'd made was far from right. "She doesn't blame you. Do you recognise this man?" Adrian pulled out his phone and bought up the picture of Fraser.

"Yes, that's the man who came to the door, he said he was a friend of Clara's…" Adrian almost laughed.

"That's what we all thought too. This is Tom's brother, it seems he's not a fan of Clara moving on," Adrian told him.

"I need to go and see Clara, is she in?" he asked.

"She should be, just be careful?" Danny nodded. "And we'll all talk later about where we go next."

"Thank you, for being there for her." Adrian nodded, moving to let him leave.

Danny walked down the hall and through the corridors to Clara's room, he knocked on the door but didn't get a response. Looking through the window there was no sign of her in there so he went in, checking the cupboard. There was nothing in there either. Her bag wasn't by the desk, she always put that in her room before going anywhere else. Nonetheless, Danny made his way to the staffroom and looked around. He walked over to Beth and Helen who were sat at the table. "Have either of you seen Clara around?"

"Not this morning, didn't you come in together?" Helen asked.

"No, I was out last night, stayed elsewhere… thanks," he walked out again, going back to find Adrian. "Are you sure she's in?"

"She text me just before I came into you saying she was in the car and about to leave… is she not here?" Adrian asked. Danny shook his head and Adrian quickly pulled out his phone trying to call her. "It's going straight to voicemail, that doesn't make sense."

"I need to get home, this isn't like her at all," Danny looked at the clock. "The bell will be going soon," he ran a hand over her head, trying to work out what he was going to do.

"You can't drive, we can't both go. I'll get Helen and Beth to combine tutors with mine and Clara, you go to yours as normal. Relax, let's not panic before we know anything." Danny took a deep breath and nodded.

"Keep me updated?" Danny asked and he nodded. Slowly Danny left the room and went off to his classroom.

Tutor wasn't easy, they were playing on the fact something was clearly up but he quite frankly didn't care. It felt like forever before his phone flashed. He told the pupils he'd be right back and left the room, going round the corner out of sight before he answered.  
"She's not here Danny, she definitely left, but I can't find her. You need to tell Frances what's going on and get down here. I'll call the police." Danny didn't know how to respond, shaking his head in denial.

"Right… see you soon…" Danny hung up, staring at his phone and running off to get everything sorted - he needed to find Clara.


	21. Chapter 21

"She thinks I hate her Adrian, I can't leave it like that." Danny was distraught, he was pacing their lounge as they waited for the police.

"Danny this isn't helping her, it's not helping anyone. Clara knows you just misunderstood, and you're already picturing the worst which we don't know. We know this is likely down to Frances which gives us a slight advantage and the police are already on looking up his car. Just relax, you'll be in a much better frame of mind to help if you do." Adrian spoke firmly and Danny did eventually respond. The police arrived soon after, Adrian letting them in.

They took some details and a photo, relaying information over their radios immediately.  
"Normally we don't look into disappearances from adults this early, but in this situation we can understand the concern. They've managed to identify the suspect's car so there are officers out looking for both his and her cars. Right now we'd rather you stay at home, if you think of anywhere she could be other than what you've told us already then please let us know. We'll be staying with you for now, there's plenty of manpower out there." Danny couldn't stop staring out of the window, almost willing Clara to reappear in the drive. "Mr Pink?"

He looked back briefly, "yeah I heard, thanks," he replied before standing up from the sofa and walking over, sitting on the windowsill. "Where are you?" he whispered to himself. All he could do was wait.

Clara woke up and looked around - she recognised this house, she didn't know how she got here. She remembered someone was following her, she tried to get away, then she crashed… she blacked out. Her head was hurting, but she couldn't see any blood. Clara looked around, still trying to place the house. Then she realised… "no."

"Good to be home?" Clara's head flicked round when she heard Frances' voice, but she brought a hand up to her neck, wincing at the pain.

"This isn't my home, it never was," she replied. "How did I get here?"

"It was going to be," Frances told her, sitting down beside her. "You left it."

"It wasn't mine to do anything with, Tom left the house to you," she replied, trying to keep calm.

"He left everything else to you," Frances pointed out.

"I know, believe me I know," Clara looked down at her hands in her lap.

Frances was confusing her, she couldn't work this out. He still hadn't replied to her earlier question. "So why do you have to be so damn greedy?" his voice raised with this question, but Clara couldn't understand what he meant.

"What do you mean? I've barely touched what Tom left, I'm saving it…" but he stopped her, slapping her and knocking her back and then grabbing her left hand, holding it up.

"This, you're engaged again?! It's not even been a year. How long have you even known this guy? Like 5 minutes? And you take him on the holiday that was meant to be your honeymoon?!" He was shouting now, Clara moved as far away from him as she could.

"i've known him 6 months if you must know," she wasn't going to tell him how soon after they met the engagement happened. "I took him on the holiday because it's what Tom would want, he would want me to be happy - he definitely wouldn't want to waste a good holiday." It wasn't easy for her to talk about this, she could feel the tears beginning to bubble. "I love Tom, I always will?"

"Then why?!" he shouted.

"Because I couldn't stay that hollow shell of myself forever!" she finally raised her voice back at him. "Danny made me feel myself again, that's exactly what he would want and you know that." Frances looked away. "Please let me go, I have work," she told him.

"No, you need to see where you've gone wrong, it's too soon!" he stood up, walking upstairs. Clara saw an opportunity, standing up and going for the door. She almost made it, but it was locked. It didn't take her long to find the spare key, it hadn't moved, but just as she went to unlock it she was grabbed from behind, spinning her round and pushing her against the door. "Now what would Tom think of you running away from his brother?" he asked.

Clara tried to get out of his grasp, but the grip was too strong. "What would he think of his brother attacking his fiancé?" she tried.

"Not attacking, protecting, I'm protecting you from making the biggest mistake of your life," he told her, finally letting go but pushing her up the stair.

"What are you doing?!" she asked, trying to fight him but struggling and having to go upstairs. He pushed her into a room, Tom's bedroom and shut the door, locking it. Tom never used the lock, but it had always been there, Clara didn't even know where the key had lived. "Frances!" she called out, but he didn't reply. She turned around now, when she realised there was another noise in the room. Looking around she realised that the TV was on and it was playing the DVD that Tom had made of some of their best moments for their anniversary. She'd always left it here and after he died she couldn't bring herself to take it with the rest of her stuff. When she looked at it she saw their first holiday, a video Tom had taken on the beach while chasing her with a bucket of water. They were both so happy, laughing as he tripped over, getting covered in the water, the camera lying behind him and they ended up laying in the sand together. It was the first time he told her he loved her.

Clara couldn't look away, not for a moment, but eventually she shook her head out of the trance and sat down on the bed, bringing her knees up to her chest. What was Frances trying to achieve? None of this was going to bring Tom back, she knew he could never come back, all this was doing was bringing back memories, maybe they were happy memories, but she just didn't want to think about them. She was moving forwards, not backwards, and yet she could feel herself slipping back into that zone where she missed Tom more than anything.

There was no news yet, they'd been searching for an hour now. Danny was going out of his mind, he'd had to be stopped twice from going out. The police officers who sat with them kept trying to reassure him but it wasn't going well.  
"I don't understand, how can they just have disappeared?" he asked, but nobody had an answer for him. Silence fell again for a few minutes before something happened on the radio and one of the officers left the room. Danny watched them leave, waiting for something to happen. Soon enough he reappeared and sat down on the sofa opposite him.

"They've found Clara's car," he started, "it was crashed on one of the country lanes just outside of town, Grange Lane? Do you know why she'd be there?"

"No, that's out the way of the school, what do you mean crashed?!" Danny asked.

"There's no sign of serious injury, there are teams on site to look more carefully for any evidence, but they're moving the search a little in response to this. Did you want to have a look at a map? See what's in the surrounding area?" the police officer was doing his best, Danny knew that.

"Yes, I'll do anything that helps," he replied and the officer nodded, going off to his car to retrieve the map. Adrian appeared from the kitchen having made tea and sat down. "Did you hear?"

"Yeah, yeah I heard. She'll be alright Danny, she's strong," he told him, "wherever she is, she'll be fighting."

"That's what I'm afraid of…" he sighed, moving a little when the map was placed on the table in front of him.

"Take a look around the area, see what's local that might be somewhere he'd take her," the officer told him. Danny nodded, beginning to stare and hoping he could recognise something.

Clara looked round as the door was unlocked and Frances walked in with a plate which seemed to have a sandwich on it.  
"Thought you might be hungry," he put the plate down on the bed but she ignored it. "Enjoying the DVD?"

"Just let me go, this is useless," she told him, quieter than before. Frances however seemed to be able to read in to her.

"You're lying," he commented, "have you ever seen this?" Frances opened up the cupboard up that Clara had never been in. Tom kept all kinds of rubbish in there. He'd never asked her not to open it, she just never did, and that included when she went through the house. His brother on the other hand clearly had and reached to the back, pulling out a shoe box and putting it down beside her. "Take a look," he told her.

"What is it?" she asked, there didn't seem to be anything special about the box itself.

"You'll see," he replied, backing out and locking the door.

"Frances no!" she called but it was pointless. Clara stared at the box, slowly reaching out to open it. What she found was hardly what she expected. Inside was many little items - tickets from their movie dates, the little toy she'd won at the arcades and stuck in his pocket without him realising - he'd text her later that night complaining. Clara kept going through the box, she had no idea he had kept all this. She found the train tickets from when he surprised her at the end of a week long conference in Bristol and the note she'd left one morning when she'd had to leave his early for work.

Clara reached the bottom of the box and found one more letter, one she didn't recognise. This one wasn't from her, it was his handwriting, so why was it in the box? She pulled the paper out, opening it up.

 _Clara,  
I don't know why I'm writing this, I guess I'm missing you while you're in Iceland. It's been 4 months today, the best 4 months of my life. We've been through many a challenge together, but that doesn't stop me from loving you. Every moment has been special, I never knew I could love someone this much, you mean everything to me I could never see you hurt. I'll always be here to watch over you, protect you, and I know you will be for me too. _

_I trust you with my life, I always will, this whole journey with you has shown me that. You've seen me through some difficult times, nobody else could ever do this for me, I could never let anyone. I guess I've never talked like this, maybe because we've never been apart this long, maybe because it's late and I've been thinking too much._

 _I don't know if I'll ever give you this letter, I guess half of this is me getting my feelings down, but it's all true. I don't know what the future holds, I just know what I want it to hold. I want you, me, a family, a beautiful house out of the town. I want us to be happy, but most of all I want you to be happy and I'm going to be the person that makes that happen._

 _I should probably go to sleep now, you'd be telling me off if you knew I was awake._

 _Goodnight my love xx_

Tears were streaming, she held the letter close. He never had given it to her, but she'd kept it. Clara curled up on the bed, no longer fighting that she was locked up in here, she could feel her strength slipping away from her, maybe Frances had what he wanted.

Danny had pointed out Clara's flat, it was only a few roads away from where her car had crashed, but they'd been there and there was no sign. He did make a mental note that they needed to discuss selling that, but that was hardly the priority right now. He kept staring at the map, but it wasn't him that came up with the next point.

"Tom's house…" Adrian suddenly spoke out, having barely said a word in half an hour. Danny looked up to him, "I only went a couple of times, but it's not far from there - guess who he left it to."

"Frances?" Danny asked and he nodded. No sooner had he said that did the police take the details off him and put the search on. "She has to be there, I need to go," he stood up.

"Danny…" Adrian started and the policewoman also stood up.

"No! I'm not waiting anymore. They'll arrive before I will, but I need to go," he started towards the door.

"You can't drive!" Adrian called out.

"Then drive me, I'm going whether you do or not," he told him.

"Mr Pink, I really should advise,"

"I know what you advise, but you don't know everything do you? She's vulnerable, Adrian you know that - she needs us, both of us," he made eye contact with him and Adrian finally nodded, grabbing his keys.

"Fine, but you stay in the car until it's okay to go to her," he told him and they went out.

Clara was only disturbed by the loud knock on the door. She heard the shouts of the police and she heard Frances running out the back door, but she didn't move. She heard them break the door down, police officers running around the lower floor before they came upstairs. She heard them knock on the bedroom door, try the handle, but she didn't answer. She heard them break the bedroom door down to get in, she heard the officer trying to speak to her, but she couldn't respond. She flinched when someone tried to touch her, still clutching the letter and staring at the TV screen.

Someone came to the car, knocking on the window and Adrian lowered the window. They explained what was happening, that Clara wasn't responding to anyone.  
"This is exactly how she used to be, after Tom died, she retreated into herself, wouldn't respond to anyone," he explained.

"Then she needs you," Danny replied, but Adrian shook his head.

"No, she needs you. Frances has clearly taken her here to make her like this, she needs you now more than ever." Adrian told him this quite sternly, they could all see what happened. Danny nodded, almost scared of how to deal with this but he couldn't let her down.

They guided him in and upstairs, he took his time walking into the room, taking in how she was positioned. He walked around to face her, kneeling down beside the bed, not touching her straight away.  
"Clara," he slowly put a hand out, touching her hand carefully, as it clutched at the ring on her necklace. "Look at me, it's just me, everyone else has gone they're outside." She finally looked up and he could see her tear stained cheek. Danny used his other hand to wipe the tears away gently. "I'm not angry, not at you. This is all important stuff for you, I understand that," he kissed his fingers and placed them gently on her forehead.

"He made me watch the video, he showed me all these things I'd never seen," she whispered, letting the paper in her hands go so Danny could look. He glanced over the paper, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, you have nothing to be sorry about," Danny moved to sit on the bed and Clara sat up, trying to fight her instincts.

"He wanted me to leave you, that's what all this was for," Clara rubbed at her neck, suddenly remembering she was in pain. "He made me crash, I don't remember."

"They found the car, does it hurt?" Danny rubbed at her neck very carefully.

"Yeah, a bit, but I just want to go home Danny," she hugged in to him. "This was never my home," she held onto him tighter than maybe she ever had. He kissed her head gently and stood up, picking her up as she held on to his neck. Danny carried her downstairs and outside.

"Can we leave everything until tomorrow? She's in no mood to talk now," Danny told them. Adrian jumped out the car to open the door for him to put her in, "stay with her a moment?" he asked him and unhooked Clara's arms from his neck carefully, going back over to the lead detective.

"He forced her off the road, that's why she crashed. Otherwise he doesn't appear to have hurt her, just made her watch some DVD and look at some things from her previous relationship. He's Tom's brother and doesn't seem to approve that she's moved on after Tom's death. That's all I can tell you for now," he explained.

"Alright, we appreciate it is best for you to take her home now. We'll phone later and arrange a time for us to come round tomorrow to talk further, in the meantime we're going to keep gathering evidence and more importantly - find the suspect. I'll keep you informed, is it alright to contact you?" she asked.

"Yes, that's fine. I really do need to go…" he could hear Clara calling for him, however quiet she was.

"Alright, thank you for the information. I'll be in contact." Danny nodded and ran back to the car, jumping in the back with Clara who immediately clung onto him again.

"Told you," Adrian whispered in his ear and shut the door, going round to drive them home.

When they arrived home, Danny lifted Clara out of the car and took her straight upstairs into the bedroom, laying her down. "I'm right here okay? Can I get you anything?" Clara shook her head. "Alright, I just need to ring in to work love, tell them you're safe and that you won't be in tomorrow," he stroked her hair gently.

"No, I'll be in work tomorrow," she told him, "I have to be, I have to get back," Danny noticed how agitated the idea was making her and nodded.

"Okay, alright, but I still need to let them know you're safe," he sat back down on the bed and let her lie with him. Adrian had already gone, leaving them to it.

Danny made the call and by the time he was done, Clara was asleep. He watched over her, thinking back and realising he really had never see her like that. This was how life had been for Clara before he knew her, her grief was still raw in so many ways. Danny looked down at her necklace, taking hold of the ring itself and studying it carefully.  
"Sometimes I wish I'd met you, seen you together. I'm not jealous, how can I be? This just affects her so much, I hate seeing it," Danny sighed, "maybe it's strange that I'm talking to you, I mean, you're gone…" he looked to Clara's tear stained cheeks. "I'm glad she had you, even if it wasn't for long enough." Danny let go of the ring and kissed her head before moving a little so he too could get some sleep, still holding Clara protectively.

Clara woke up to feel Danny's arms solidly round her. She smiled gently, feeling much better having slept. The whole experience was hardly fantastic, but she was home now, home and safe and she couldn't let this affect her - she couldn't go backwards. She felt safe with Danny, he reminded her how lucky she still was despite everything that had happened. Clara twisted a little in his arms so she could look up, gently kissing his chest. Danny's eyes flicked open and he quickly looked down, relieved to see her smile. "Relax, I'm okay," she told him, "I'm sorry for all that earlier, I couldn't shake the feeling it completely took me over…" Danny shook his head, kissing her head softly.

"Don't apologise, none of this was your fault, I'm sorry for assuming what I did…" he sighed.

"None of this is our fault Danny, none of it," she told him, tilting her head and kissing him softly. "I love you so much, you just did in a few hours what it took me months to do," she held his hand, playing with his fingers.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Dragged me back from the depths," she kissed his fingers, "I don't know how you've do it."

"Me neither, but I love you so much, I'll never let you down again," he smiled softly. "Now, I really can't be bothered to move… pizza and a movie?"

"Sounds perfect, I'm going to shower though, I feel… wrong," she sat up. "You know the order," she grinned and kissed him, getting up to go to the bathroom.

Danny went downstairs, grabbing the menu and sorting the order. Once he'd done that he called Adrian, knowing he'd be back home by now.  
"How is she?" Adrian didn't even say hello, but Danny didn't blame him.

"Much better now she's slept, we're just going to relax. What happened when you got back?" Danny asked.

"People asked lots of questions, I kept it vague. Got called in to the headmaster's office," he chuckled, "nah I told him what was going on, he said you should both take the rest of the week - I think he's going to email you. Everyone's very sympathetic, it's absolutely fine." Danny was relieved in a way, he didn't want Clara going back straight away - whatever she said this was still affecting her.

"Thank you so much for today, I couldn't have got through that otherwise. I'd better go, I hear her coming down. I'll get her to call you tomorrow though if you want?" Danny told him.

"Yeah, please. Thank you for helping her better than I ever could," Adrian replied.

"Don't put yourself down, you've always been a wonderful friend to her. I'll see you soon." Danny hung up just before Clara appeared and put his arms out for her. Clara walked over, hugging him gently."How you doing? Pizza will be half an hour," he kissed her hair gently.

"I'm okay, better now I'm showered. I'm gonna make tea, you want one?" Danny nodded, following her through to the kitchen. "How are you?" He went to protest, "no, tell me, I'm not the only one affected by this." Danny sat down at the breakfast bar while she boiled the kettle.

"I honestly don't really know how I'm feeling at the moment. I'm relieved you're home, but I still haven't processed what happened today, that's going to take time." He was honest with her, she deserved that.

Clara didn't respond straight away, she finished making the tea and then sat down opposite him.  
"I knew Frances would never really hurt me, not physically… but I guess you didn't," she squeezed his hand across the table, sipping at her tea with her mug in the other hand.

"He made you crash Clara, how is that not hurting you?" Danny twisted his hand so they were holding each other's.

"I don't think that was his intention, I just lost control in panic. Either way, I'm fine now, you saved me. Now, I'm choosing the film," Clara grinned, standing up. Danny watched her go out to the lounge and sipped at his tea - he was going to need to think about this more. They'd get through, they always did, but it also wasn't over yet.


	22. Chapter 22

Danny was stood by the sink when he felt Clara's arms slide around him. He smiled, turning around in her grasp to face her. "Morning sleepyhead," he said before kissing her.

"Cheeky, how come you got up so early anyway, if we're going to be forced off work we might as well make the most of the lie ins," Clara chuckled a little before taking in his facial expression, "did you sleep?"

"A little," Danny replied, "it's fine. You want tea?" he managed to escape over to the kettle, but Clara followed as he flicked it on.

"Something's wrong," she stated, not asking - just telling. "Danny talk to me," she took his hand, stopping him from reaching for the mugs.

"I'm just," she glared at him, "alright, I had a couple of bad dreams last night, that's all - just bad dreams, mind going a little mad, you know the drill." Clara raised an eyebrow and he sighed, "I can't stop thinking about what could have happened, the way you were when I found you…" she stopped him with a kiss, soft but deep enough to tell him everything he needed to know. "You have to talk to the police today," Clara kissed him again.

"Stop worrying, it won't be easy, but I've got you haven't I? You're all I need - we're in this together. I love you, Danny Pink, and you're all I need. Well that and tea so get on that because I need to make myself look half decent for this interview," she grinned and let him go.

When they arrived at the station she was far from the bouncy Clara that Danny had seen earlier that morning. She gripped his hand tight as they waited for the detective to appear, leaning her head on his shoulder. Danny kept an arm around her, rubbing her other arm softly and occasionally kissing the top of her head.  
"It'll be fine, you just have to tell them what happened and we can go home. I'll run you a bath, it'll be over," he kissed her head again.

"It won't though will it? This is just the beginning," she sighed.

"Maybe, but we're in this together," Danny told her and Clara nodded gently, suddenly looking up when the door opened and the detective walked in.

"Miss Oswald?" she checked and Clara confirmed, "I'm Detective Inspector Grason, we're going to go through to the interview room now. Given the circumstances we can allow your fiancé to come into the interview room with you. The lawyer you arranged is in there too," Clara looked a little confused.

"I called in a favour," Danny explained and Clara smiled thankfully, she hadn't even considered the legal side. "You can talk to them first, I'll join you in 10 minutes," DI Grason led her through to the interview room and left her to talk with the lawyer who took her through what was going to happen.

10 minutes later, as promised, DI Grason reappeared and sat down. Danny sat beside her, Clara squeezed his hand. She wasn't allowed to talk to Danny, but she was grateful for his presence - that was, until the questions started.  
"Miss Oswald, can you talk us through how the situation unfolded," DI Grason asked and Clara explained about the emails and the calls. She got as far as Fraser visiting Danny, but then she stopped, glancing over at Danny. She hadn't told him the details about what Fraser did to her, only now did it occur to her that this is where he was going to hear it. "Clara, is everything okay?" she asked her. Clara looked back around to Grason and bit her lip.

"Can we take a break?" she asked, her head suddenly spinning.

"Of course, 10 minutes?" Clara nodded and DI Grason leant over to pause the recording. "We'll give you some space, Mr Fielding do you want to come with me?" Her lawyer stood up and followed the detective out.

"Clara what's going on?" Danny asked as soon as he could, "you were doing really well," he turned round on his chair to face her and took her other hand. Clara eventually turned to face him too.

"You knew all that stuff," she spoke quietly, "you've been so worried - I don't want you to know everything it wouldn't be fair on you, you'd have more bad dreams and I can't do that to you." Danny leant over and hugged her as Clara gave in and let the tears fall. "I'm gonna have to see him again Danny, you're gonna have to see him…"

"Clara look at me, just look," he managed to persuade her to sit up a little and look him in the eyes. He lifted her left hand up and rubbed his thumb over her engagement ring. "This means something Clara - it means that we go through life together now. Whatever happened, whatever is going to happen, it's my burden too. Stop worrying about me, I've had worse nightmares as well you know," he told her.

"You don't need anymore," Clara spoke through tears that Danny wiped away.

"Clara stop! Whether I hear it now or at the trial I'm going to find out, I want to know! I want to know what's upsetting you, please sweetheart," Danny kissed her softly, "you can do this." Clara kept eye contact with him and nodded a little. "I love you, I'm right here and you _can_ do this."

"Okay, alright, let's get on with this so we can go home," Clara sat back and looked to the door where DI Grason and Mr Fielding were stood waiting. Mr Fielding came in first, sitting down.

"Is everything alright?" he asked and Clara nodded.

"Yes, everything is fine, sorry. Let's get this done?" he nodded and gestured for DI Grason to come back in. "Thank you for giving me the break," Clara told her.

"No problem, I appreciate this is far from easy for you," she restarted the recording. "So you left for work the morning after Mr Pink walked out?" Danny looked down a little but Clara squeezed his hand.

"Yes, I left about 10 to 8," she replied.

"And Fraser was following you?"

"Yes, I didn't know it was him, but I worked out the car was following me. I tried going different ways to get away but it's like… like he wanted me to go that direction. I started to panic, I lost control of the car…" she had to stop as her breathing rate rose.

"Take all the time you need, talk us through what happened next when you're ready," Clara looked to Danny who nodded at her.

"You don't have to say anything Miss Oswald," Mr Fielding commented.

"No, it's fine," Clara looked back across the table, "the next thing I know I was in the house - Tom's house. Fraser was there, he started shouting about how I'd taken Danny on the holiday we'd booked and how I was betraying Tom. he turned his back for a moment and I tried to get out but he stopped me, he pushed me against the door, wouldn't let me go," Clara could feel Danny tense up beside her, "he forced me upstairs and locked me in Tom's bedroom, there was a DVD playing - Tom made it for us. So many memories… he got to me, I tried but he got to me, I couldn't escape it, all those feelings came back and I felt so scared and alone. He came back in, with food, kept talking about Tom. Then he got the letter out," her voice was wobbling as she spoke.

"That would be this letter," DI Grayson picked up a bag from behind her and put it on the table - with the letter in. Clara immediately looked away and leant in to Danny. "Miss Oswald, I'm sorry I need you to confirm?"

"You can do this," Danny whispered to her, not loud enough for any of the others to hear as he wasn't meant to be speaking. Clara finally sat up and looked round.

"Yes, that's it," as soon as she could she looked away, "when I finished the letter I couldn't move, I just lay there. Fraser came back in, he sat on the bed, stroked my arm, I couldn't move away. He kept going, I couldn't do anything, but then you arrived… he ran, then all I remember is Danny and then home… that's it," she reached the end and sat back.

"Well done Miss Oswald, that's all very helpful, I just have a couple more questions before we finish - if that's okay with you both?" she looked to Mr Fielding and Clara in turn, both of whom confirmed. "You said that Fraser stroked your arm and he kept going, what did you mean by that?" Clara stiffened and looked to Danny who had definitely got paler.

"Nothing… nothing happened. You arrived just after, nothing happened and I don't know if anything would. That's enough isn't it? Please I don't want to talk anymore. You've heard everything, I just want to get back home." DI Grayson ended the recording and stood up.

"You can go, thank you - I know that was far from easy for you. You can go home, we'll be in contact in due course, mostly through Mr Fielding. I'll leave you now, Mr Fielding will show you out shortly," DI Grayson nodded and left after shaking their hands.

"Miss Oswald," he started, but Clara sighed.

"Clara, please, Miss Oswald is what I get called by my students," she sighed.

"Clara, I'm sorry, listen we all just want to help here. What Mr… Fraser, what Fraser has done is wrong and it should be very simple to bring the case against him. I appreciate this is difficult for you, that it brings some difficult memories back, but you've done brilliantly already. This is more than enough for one day, that much I appreciate, we will talk again soon once things have progressed. You have my number?" Danny responded for her, nodding. "Then I'll show you out."

#-#-#-#

They arrived home in silence, Clara opened the door to the house and went inside, immediately going to the kitchen to make tea.  
"Clara, talk to me," Danny stopped her in her tracks, holding her arms, "it's okay, you did really well in there,"

"I'm fed up of being told I did well! I just spoke, just said what happened, it's not like I got an A in my coursework is it?!" Clara shrugged him off and went back to the kettle. "Speaking of which I want to get back to work, take my mind off things."

Danny shook his head, sighing, "you've been signed off till next week Clara, you can't go back even if you wanted - you know the rules. You know what I heard in there changes nothing right? You don't have to be scared or ashamed, it's okay," he told her.

"How can it be okay?! How can we ever be okay after this?" Clara kicked the side and then slid down the side, sitting on the floor. Danny joined her. "You've seen how much I still miss him, how much it still affects me, how can you still want me?"

"The same reason I've always wanted you, because I love you, because I know your past and I know how much you miss Tom, but I still love you. Because everyday I see that whatever happened, you still love me. How do I know? Because you're scared right now. If you didn't love me then you wouldn't care about losing me, but you are, that's what I see Clara. I love you, more than anything I really love you and I want to help you through this. None of today changes that, not one little bit, it's just you and me now and whatever happens I'm going nowhere," Danny kissed her head softly but meaningfully. Clara wiped her eyes and looked up at him, "You're everything to me," Clara kissed him before he could continue.

"i don't know what the hell I would do without you," she hugged in to him on the floor. "Can we make tea and just relax on the sofa? That's all I really want to do."

#-#-#-#

When Danny woke on Monday morning Clara was already up and dressed. She was sat on the chair in the corner of the room, barely having left his side since the incident had occurred. He sat up, looking at her working away on her laptop.  
"Are you sure you're ready to work?" Danny asked.

"Good morning to you too," Clara replied, shutting the lid of her laptop. "I'm fine, just woke up early. You should get up anyway, I need to get in and sort things out - goodness knows what state my room will be in." Danny rolled his eyes as she walked towards the bed and managed to grab her hand and pull her on to the bed. Clara squealed a little but didn't move once she was sat down on the bed.

"Did you sleep?" he asked, looking her directly in the eyes.

"Danny I told you I'm fine," she smiled but he didn't.

"That's not an answer to the question," he replied.

"I'm fine," she said again, lifting his hand and kissing it gently, "now get up or I'll leave without you," she stood up again.

"Only if you make me tea," Danny gave in and grinned.

"Fine, I'll put the kettle on and see you downstairs," Clara left the room and Danny finally got up and ready.

When he got downstairs Danny held back from going into the kitchen and watched as Clara stood alone looking out of the window. He knew she wasn't really fine and he couldn't say he was that happy about her going back, but there was nothing more he could say to stop her. He spotted how she kept looking back, waiting for him to arrive. He wasn't stupid, he knew how much she was struggling to cope without him around - like she was scared what might happen if she was alone. It hurt him to see her like that and that was a big part of the reason he didn't want her back at work.

Eventually he made himself visible and walked in, immediately seeing the change in her face as Clara presented him with tea. They had breakfast together and chatted as if it was a normal day, heading into work relatively early. When they reached Clara's room they stopped - generally this was where they split but Clara hesitated before she opened the door. She could feel her heart starting to race again as it had done many times since the events of the previous week. Danny was looking at her a little concerned and Clara knew she had to get herself together or at least come up with a solution. It was the latter option she went for.

"Can you help me get the room sorted? I have the departmental meeting in 15 minutes and it looks like nobody bothered tidying at all last week," she sighed and Danny chuckled.

"You are far too picky Mrs Pink, but as you wish," he smiled and followed her in. Clara took a silent but deep breath of relief that he would be around until the meeting.

Danny didn't say anything to Clara, but he knew what she was doing. They tidied the room together, messing about in the usual way. They started chucking a bit of paper that Clara had found on the floor at each other. Just as Clara threw it back the door opened and Adrian walked in, unwittingly walking into the path of the flying ball of paper. Both of them laughed as he stood there looking a little shocked.

"Dare I ask?" Adrian asked. Both of them shook their heads, "you're actual children sometimes I swear. Just letting you know I'm here anyway, I'll be back in a minute or two," Adrian looked at Danny who nodded slightly.

"I'd better get my own room sorted. You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah course, see you later, have a good morning," she kissed him quickly before he grabbed his bag and left.

Danny went straight down to Adrian's room and joined him. He was looking hopeful but Danny shook his head. "It was mostly an act in there. She's not okay, she's barely left my side in the last few days - even this morning I woke up to find her sat in the corner of the bedroom working - something she'd normally have done downstairs. This morning she asked me to go in and help her tidy which again she'd normally never do. I'm pretty sure she doesn't know I've realised, but I'm really unsure about her ability to work today."

Adrian could see he was worried. "Danny relax, Clara's strong and I will watch her like a hawk today," he patted him on the back. "Go get yourself sorted - I've got a meeting to get to."

Danny smiled and thanked him before making his way off to his own room. He'd only been gone for 30 seconds when Adrian looked up to see Clara at his door, "missed me that much?" Clara chuckled and walked in.

"Ran out of things to do, you want to fill me in on what I missed?" she asked, leaning against the wall inside his room.

"Not a lot really, same old same old. How're you doing?" he asked, organising his desk.

"Yeah fine thanks, glad to be back if I'm honest," she smiled.

"And the real answer?" Adrian flicked his computer screen off and turned to face her, "you might be fooling Danny but I've known you a long time Clara Oswald." As much as he hated lying, it was best that she didn't click on to Danny just yet.

"I'm fine! Adrian honestly, the interview was absolutely awful but everything is back to normal now. We had a lovely few days off, it was really nice. Anyway, time to give you lot hell - you coming?" Adrian rolled his eyes and walked over, gently pushing her out the door as Clara chuckled and they made their way back to her room.

The bell for breaktime had hardly finished ringing when Clara appeared at Danny's door. He was quite proud that she'd managed her lessons but sighed internally when he spotted her waiting for his class to leave, putting on a smile.  
"Good morning?" he asked as Clara shut the door behind her.

"Always, Monday mornings are lovely anyway - year 8 and 7. How about you?" she asked, hopping up on his desk.

"Same old same old, I love my job really," he grinned and stood in front of her. "You gonna help me clear up or just sit there?" Danny took her hands and pulled her off the desk. "Unless you fancy going ahead and making tea, I'm gasping."

"2 people are quicker than 1," she smiled and kissed him quickly, "I'll sort the books." Danny nodded, letting her hands go so she could make a start while he organised his desk. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, flitting around the room as she grabbed books as if nothing was wrong. Maybe she was doing better, maybe he was worrying too much, after all she'd got through the morning okay. "Hey am I the only one doing any work here?" Clara asked as she put the books back in his cupboard.

"Sorry, a little distracted," he smiled and followed her in to the cupboard, kissing her softly.

"I thought you wanted tea," she wrapped her arms around his waist, grinning.

"I want you more," Danny replied, "you're gorgeous, you know that?" he kissed her again but Clara stopped, looking a little confused.

"Danny I love you but we're at work, where's this come from?" she asked and he smiled, "don't grin at me like that you cheeky beggar."

"Relax I'm not exactly planning on doing it in the cupboard, you just look irresistable today," he let go, "time for tea?" Clara nodded and they both headed off to the staffroom, but that kiss had told Danny something he feared - something wasn't right.

#-#-#-#

It was almost lunchtime, Danny was beginning to think he'd misread the situation. He'd not heard anything from Clara or Adrian and she had her worst class this period. Thankfully his year 9 class were being well behaved and generally getting on with their work.

Clara rubbed her head as she tried to concentrate on the lesson plan for the afternoon, she hated herself for not having done it last week. Her year 10s were clearly not going to give her the time or the space and evidently they didn't fancy doing their coursework either. She gave up on her lesson plan and stood up.  
"Is there something difficult about this for you Matthew?" she walked in the direction of the main troublemaker who was currently facing the wrong way to talk to his mate.

"It's not even English!" he shouted back at her.

"Oh is that where I've been going wrong all this time? Thank you for enlightening me," she rolled her eyes.

"No need for sarcasm _miss_ ," he tutted, "just sayin' it don't make sense."

"Well if you paid more attention in previous lessons you might have a better idea now don't you think?" Clara responded.

"Why you picking on me anyway?! I'm not the only one not working," he stood up, his chair pushed away by his motion and squaring up to her, "besides, you're the one that pissed off all of last week," he seethed. Clara took a step back, trying not to show that her heart rate had suddenly increased. Matthew wasn't the smallest of pupils and his confrontation brought back unwanted memories. She'd been coping okay - lessons were a good distraction and Danny was there outside those hours. "Oi you lost your voice Miss?" he reached out to tap her on the shoulder but Clara instinctively pushed his hand away. "Hey! You can't touch me!"

"Rule works both ways!" she shouted back at him. "Get back to your work!" she faced the whole class quickly before walking out. Once she had left the room she lost control, her breathing rate increased and she could feel herself panicking. Clara took deep breaths, wiping at her eyes and quickly headed off in the direction of Danny's room. As soon as she was there she knocked on the door, trying to keep calm enough while his class were looking. Danny looked up and saw her, instructing his class to continue while he was gone.

Danny came outside, shutting the door behind him and moving round the corner so they were out of sight. "What's happened?" he asked but Clara just hugged in to him, unable to talk. "Clara, has something happened? Talk to me baby," he stroked her hair.

"He was playing up, I just tried to stop him touching me, he's so tall and all I could think of was Fraser I didn't mean it I just freaked out," she was breaking down and Danny could see what he'd been afraid of all morning. He spotted Fiona walking by and quickly stopped her.

"Can you take over mine for the last 10 minutes? No questions," she quickly nodded and went inside his classroom. "Staffroom, let's get you out of the corridor before lunch, is anyone with your class?" Clara shook her head. "Can you make your own way while I sort them out then?" she shook her head again and he nodded. "Alright sweetheart, okay. Look at me, you're safe. He can't hurt you anymore, I won't let him," he held her gently and supported her as they made their way to the staffroom. Thankfully when they got there is was near enough empty with only Jemma sat in the corner. "Ah good, can you go and finish up with Clara's year 10s? And whatever story they want to give you just tell them to speak to Adrian?"

"Of course, is everything okay?" she asked and Danny nodded, making it obvious that Clara didn't want anymore saying. Jemma appreciated that and quickly left.

"Tell me exactly what happened Clara, who upset you?" Danny sat her down.

"Matthew Grieves, he was playing up, I confronted him but he just kept back chatting and then he stood up and I think he was going to tap me on the shoulder or something I don't know but I pushed his hand away and then he started shouting and I had to get out, I kept it calm in there but my heart was racing and I could see Fraser in my mind I had to get out," she kicked the table in frustration. "I shouldn't be getting like this, they're just my pupils, I've never had this issue before!"

"You'd never been abducted by your dead fiancé's brother before either, it's a big thing Clara…" he sighed gently and pulled her closer and kissed her head.

"I was fine though," she hugged him.

"Clara you've barely left my side in a week, even this morning you wouldn't let me go until Adrian had arrived and I don't remember the last time I woke up to you sat working in the corner. I'm not stupid," he told her honestly.

"I was kidding myself, I was trying to kid you. I just wanted to be back at work," Clara leant in to his grasp. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't say that, you don't have to be sorry, you're allowed to be upset," he stroked her hair softly.

"But how do I get through this?" she asked.

"We get through this," he kissed her softly, "together."


	23. Chapter 23

**I hope this chapter is okay, it's been difficult to write. Thank you for your reviews, they mean a lot xx**

Danny watched Clara pace up and down the corridor before stopping her eventually in her tracks. She sighed, hugging in to him. "It's okay to be nervous," he told her. She hadn't slept all night, Danny had slept a little but as soon as it was obvious she was struggling he'd sat up with her.

"I don't want to see him Danny, I can't," she was shaking now and he took her hands to hold them.

"You can, you can do this. You don't even have to talk today, just be there. I'll be in there too, you can look up whenever you need to. Everyone understands this is difficult for you, they all know that.

"Sorry to interrupt, it's time to go in," they both looked around to see Dan, Clara's lawyer, standing behind her. "Mr Pink you know where to go?" Danny nodded and looked back to Clara.

"You're going to be alright, I promise," he kissed her softly and quickly. "Be brave, I know more than anyone how strong you are." Danny looked her straight in the eyes, rubbing her shoulder gently before letting go and walking off. Clara watched him go until he was out of sight and then turned back to Dan. "Okay, let's do this."

It was a weird experience to walk into court. There were more people there than she thought there would be, but she could see Danny straight away which calmed her a little - nobody else mattered. Her heart was beating strongly in her chest as she took her position and sat down. Today was simple, it was an outlining of the case, a couple of witnesses. Danny didn't have to speak, she didn't have to speak, Fraser wasn't speaking either, but he was still there. She could see him in the corner of her eye - she tried to look away but that was almost impossible most of the time.

The case started, both sides putting forward their information. Clara didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the defence's case, her lawyer had said they had nothing but what they were coming out with was so convincing. It hurt, hearing them make up all this stuff about how she'd treated everyone after Tom's death and how it had upset Fraser to see what she was doing. She kept glancing over to Danny who seemed to be getting increasingly angry with them, but still managed to smile at her reassuringly.

When the day ended Clara couldn't get out fast enough, ignoring Danny when he asked how she was. They rode home in silence, Clara staring out of the window. When they got in the house Danny shut the door and watched as Clara kicked her shoes off and walked into the dining room, immediately sitting down in front of her pile of coursework essays and opening her laptop.  
"Clara no, you don't need to do this tonight," he sighed, walking to the doorway of the room.

"I do, this is their coursework Danny it needs marking," she replied. "You can put the kettle on if you want to be helpful, and don't you dare make any comments about how you don't have any coursework to mark"

"No I don't, but I have plenty of mock exams which I delegated between my cover and the rest of the staff because I knew this week I wouldn't have the time or the energy," he told her.

"Mock exams don't go towards their final grade, these are important, I'm not leaving this to anyone else it's not fair on them, I abandoned them enough recently," Clara didn't look up, reading through an essay in front of her.

"You have to think about yourself Clara," Danny walked over, placing a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off, looking round.

"I am thinking about myself Danny, this is me taking my mind off what's going on, stopping myself from going mad thinking about it all so _please_ just give me a break. Go make tea, dinner, whatever you want to do but just let me mark a few essays," Clara told him, looking away and back to her work.

Danny wasn't going to argue any further, not for now. He left the room, going through to the kitchen to put the kettle on and phone Adrian as he'd promised he would do.  
"How's she coping?" Adrian asked once they'd got passed the hellos.

"Not well, she wouldn't talk to me after and as soon as we got home she sat down to work and nothing I say is going to stop that. She's upset, maybe scared, I don't know." Danny sighed, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder while he poured the kettle.

"It's not overly surprising I suppose, it's the way she copes - work is how she copes, it's how she's always coped. It'll be difficult to break her out of it, maybe for now you just need to let her. I tried to offer to take some work off her but she didn't want to know, she loves her classes too much to let them down. Stay with her, make sure she doesn't work too late or get sick. Just let her do what she needs to," Adrian explained.

Danny finished making the tea up and leant back against the side, "yeah… thanks Adrian, I'll see you tomorrow I suppose?"

"See you there, give Clara my love." They hung up and Danny picked up the mugs, going back through to Clara.

"Tea," he placed it down on the table beside her, "I'm gonna make dinner, what do you want?" he sat down briefly next to her.

"I don't know what we have in, you can pick. I'm currently reading a slightly strange account of Macbeth…" she chuckled, "a 15 year old's imagination is something to be admired sometimes." Danny smiled at the sight of her laughing.

"They are a little strange at times. Alright I'll go sort food, you gonna take a break when we eat?" Clara shrugged and Danny decided not to question any further for now.

She did take a break in the end, but it wasn't very long. Danny tried to talk to her but she wasn't having any of it and he had to give up, eventually sitting out with her in the dining room doing some lesson planning that didn't really need doing. He would glance up occasionally and she would still be reading, noting, grading. Time was going on by and it was getting late, Danny knew she was tired, he could see it. "Come on let's get up to bed, you've been doing that for hours," he took her hand, "come on babe."

Clara didn't reply, groaning as she found yet another grammatical error in this essay, "I've spent hours drilling this into her and yet I've still reading the wrong 'there'. I'll get there one day," she chuckled, continuing through the essay.

"Clara don't ignore me," he tried again and Clara slammed her pen down and looked up at him.

"I'm busy Danny! Go to bed if you're tired," she told him firmly," I have things to do," she picked her pen back up and got writing.

"You're shattered, how can you mark important essays in this state?" he stood up, "and we have another early start, Adrian's giving evidence tomorrow."

"Don't you think I know that?! Just leave me alone Danny!" she told him and he gave up, shrugging and going up to their room.

It was an hour or so before the bedroom door opened. Danny was still awake, but he kept his eyes closed and didn't turn around. She climbed into bed, slipping her arms around him. Danny didn't move, trying to keep up the act of sleeping.

"I know you're still awake," she kissed his shoulder, "I'm sorry, I know you're just looking out for me, I just don't know how to react this week." Danny turned around to face her, taking her hand between them.

"I know this isn't easy for you, it's not easy for any of us, but we have to get through. Once this week is over he'll be gone from our lives, we can move on. We'll celebrate, but we just have a few days to get through," he told her, kissing her forehead. "I love you so much," he told her and Clara nodded, letting Danny move closer to hold her as she started to fall asleep, "I'll always be here to catch you when you fall," he whispered in her ear before she dropped off.

Danny couldn't sleep that night, he just watched her, thinking about how difficult the next day in court was going to be. The defence were giving their case, but they didn't really have much in the way of witnesses and it was therefore highly likely that Adrian would be up before the end of the day. It would mean Clara hearing about how distressed he had been, how they'd found out. Wednesday was going to be even worse - the police on the case were speaking and then it would probably be his turn, and then there was Thursday - her go. He didn't want to see her reliving it, he hated seeing her in pain.

She looked so peaceful asleep, her hair draping over her face, curled up into him as she took shallow breaths in her dreams. Occasionally she would breathe deeper, move a little, he could see her smile as she slept. She was perfect and he couldn't wait to get back to normal with her, he had so much planned to celebrate.

When morning rolled around he got up and dressed before she woke, going and making tea before coming back up and sitting back on the bed beside her so he would be there when she woke. Her eyelids flickered open revealing her beautiful shining eyes staring up at him, a small smile on her face.  
"You slept well," he kissed her head gently. "Tea's on the side, we still have a little bit of time."

Clara stared at him for a few moments, seeing the tiredness in his face, "you didn't sleep," she observed.

"I had a lovely night watching you, don't you worry," he smiled, grabbing his tea, "don't worry, I'm fine. You want something to eat?"

"I'm actually starving," she chuckled, "could you sort something while I shower?"

"Of course, I'll see you downstairs," he kissed her quickly before grabbing his mug and heading out to the kitchen.

When Clara appeared downstairs there were pancakes and fruit waiting on the table, she looked rather shocked, not expecting this. "This looks amazing," she told him, sitting down at the table, starting to tuck in, "it tastes amazing too," she added with a full mouth. Danny laughed, joining her at the table.

"You look gorgeous today, you're not trying to pull the judge are you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He is kinda good looking," Clara grinned, "luckily for you, he's probably only an 8 out of 10," she shrugged before taking another mouthful.

"Oh yeah, and what does that make me?" he asked, taking a sip of his tea.

"Mmmm an 8.5? Maybe a 9 at a stretch," she replied and quickly dodged a flying grape. "You know you're always a 10 to me," Clara grinned. "Thank you for all this, it's made me feel so much better about today."

"I'm glad, that was my aim." he smiled and they both finished eating up. Danny cleared the table, putting the plates and cutlery in the dishwasher. "Ready to go?"

"As I'll ever be," she replied, slipping her shoes on and off they went.

Danny kept his eyes on Clara all the way through the defence's case, he couldn't believe the rubbish they were spouting. Clara on the other hand spent a lot of it looking down at her hands, playing with her engagement ring and trying to pretend she wasn't hearing what they were saying. It seemed to go on for ages, longer than they'd expected, but before they knew it the time had come for Adrian to come up.

"You're a friend of Clara's is that correct?" the defence's lawyer asked.

"Yes, we've been friends for many years now since she started working at Coal Hill," Adrian confirmed.

"And you were around after her late fiancé's death?" Adrian confirmed this too. "So you are aware of her out of character and frankly quite deep reaction to this?"

"Clara reacted as anyone would when they've suddenly lost the person they were soon to marry," Adrian replied.

"But you know how she treated Frances during the time after Tom's death?" Adrian could already feel himself getting angry as he saw how they were going.

"We were all on the wrong end of her temper at times, but she was never violent and always just genuinely upset, Frances was no different and he was actually a great help to her for a while," he wasn't going to lie about that.

The questioning continued, Adrian explained what he'd known about Frances' contact with Clara and how they had led up to the events being discussed. He told them how he'd gone round to Danny's and driven him to the house.

"How would you describe Clara's state of mind when you first saw her after they came out of the house?" Clara's lawyer was questioning him now.

"She was scared, no, terrified. She was visibly shaking and didn't want to be alone. Whatever happened in there, he really hurt her both emotionally and a little physically," he told him. The memory of her appearing from that house, clinging to Danny as if her life depended on it - maybe it did.

"You didn't go in the house yourself though?" he asked.

"No, that was for Danny - her fiancé - not me. He was who Clara needed to see at that point, reminding her what she has now. Frances always struck me as the manipulating sort when I did know him, I just had a feeling he would have tried to make her feel guilty for moving on…" Adrian looked down briefly before looking back up.

"So you didn't get on with him?"

"I wouldn't say that, we were civil but he wasn't my biggest fan because he always believed I was after Clara and trying to steal her from Tom," Adrian explained, "but at the same time if we were in the same room with Clara we would be civil. He never did anything awful then."

"I understand. So you do believe he Frances is capable of doing as he is accused?"

"I don't need to believe, I saw. But yes, I do. He was always protective of his brother as all brothers should, but he took this too far. Tom wouldn't have wanted this." Adrian finished. At that point he was asked to step down.

The judge announced the end of the session and they were finally able to leave. Clara met Adrian outside before Danny had arrived and hugged him tight. "Thank you," she told him, "you were really good."

"I'm sorry it upset you," he replied, returning the hug.

"It's alright, it's what has to happen, I have to go through it," she smiled a little as they stepped back.

"You seem a lot better than Danny described you yesterday," he replied.

"He did a pretty good job of preparing me for today, but he's up tomorrow…" she sighed softly, "I know he's scared but he won't admit it to me because he's so worried about me."

Adrian nodded, "he loves you, he's bound to be worried. Let him be, let him worry, it seems to suit him well and - well - evidently it suits you well too," Adrian smiled, looking round as Danny appeared. It wasn't difficult to spot how upset he was. "I need to get home, see you tomorrow," they both said their goodbyes before Danny put his arms around Clara as Adrian walked off.

"Let's go home," Clara whispered and they both moved together to head out.

They were home before they knew it, shutting the door in relief. "Dinner?"

"Take out?" Clara replied. "I really just want to relax on the sofa tonight," she told him, slipping her shoes off.

"That sounds perfect, give me 5 minutes I need to be more comfortable," he replied, "you pick the takeout, I'm sure you know what I'll have." Danny smiled, kissing her head quickly before jogging upstairs.

Clara went through, opening the drawer with the menus in and grabbing the Indian out, phoning them up to order. Once that was done, she looked around but realised Danny hadn't reappeared. "Babe are you okay?" she called up from the bottom of the stairs, but didn't get a response. She guessed he had probably decided to shower, he generally did after work anyway. "Dinner will be here in 30 minutes," she called up again and went back into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of wine and two glasses to take through to the living room. She sat down, flicking the TV on and waiting for him to reappear.

Half an hour passed and the doorbell rang. Clara jumped up, looking upstairs, a little confused, but going to the door - grabbing the money on the way - and answering the door. She paid for the food, bringing it inside and putting it down, jogging upstair. "Danny? Food's here - what's taking you so long?" she pushed the bedroom door open and looked inside. "Babe no," she ran over, kneeling beside the bed and taking his hand where he sat on the edge.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry I thought I'd only need 5 minutes," he told her as Clara wiped her eyes. "I can't stop replaying the image of what I saw when I walked in… it's stupid, I didn't go through that - you did - I should be the one supporting you."

"We support each other remember? We're in this together. I don't expect you to be okay, you have to stand up there tomorrow and talk about what you saw and that's not going to be easy for me to hear, but it'll be even more difficult for you to say. I'd been so worried about this trial but today I realised that I have the most wonderful people around me, supporting me, and that whatever the hell Fraser has done he's going down for and all we have to do it get through a couple more days, then it's over forever," she sat up beside him. "Remember when we were on camp and I was talking to Alice at the zip wire?"

"You told her a story about your Mum," he replied and Clara nodded.

"Whatever you're scared of, it's not as strong as the love I have for you, and wherever you are, whatever you're doing, my love will always be stronger than any fear," she repeated her mother's words, squeezing Danny's hands, "that's not just true about my Mum and me, that's you and me too. I love you so much, far more than I'm scared of Fraser, far more than I'm scared of this trial, far more than anything. Tomorrow when you're standing up there I don't want you to remember me in that moment, remember me the first time we met, shouting at you in the corridor, or the time we first woke up together, or that final dinner on holiday. Tell them the facts yes, but don't think too hard about it," she smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I really love you, you know that right?" Danny kissed her head and put his arms around her, "let's go eat," he smiled and let go, standing up and heading downstairs.

Danny stood in the dock the following day. The police had done their bit, they'd been through all the evidence and the timings. They'd listened to every detail about her car, the blood on the steering wheel, the drag marks on the seat. They talked about the house, how the door to the bedroom was used to lock her in and the DVD playing when they walked in. They'd found blood on the wall too, where Clara had described him pushing her against the wall. They showed photos of the grip marks on her wrists, the bruise on her neck. It was horrible to watch, to hear about. Clara was looking at him now, nodding, telling him silently that this would be okay.

"Mr Pink, Fraser visited your house the day before the incident?" the defence's lawyer spoke first, "what happened that morning?"

"I didn't know him at the time, he knocked on the door and told me Clara had been cheating on me. I tried to defend her, I told him that she would never do it, asked who he was, but he didn't say. He hit me, on the cheek, threw the envelope at me and walked off." Danny recalled the visit nervously.

"And the envelope, that contained the picture we see on the screen now?" he asked and Danny looked up, nodding.

"Yes," he confirmed.

"And this photo, it does appear to be a quite compromising, wouldn't you say?" Danny sighed, hating where this was heading.

"Yes, but it's not," he told them, "it's just a friend helping her. She was very upset, this whole situation was getting on top of her."

"That's what she told you?" he asked.

"Yes. And it's what her friend confirmed, and what Adrian knows to be true - as you heard yesterday," he pointed out.

"All I'm saying is that was cannot be certain that this is the truth?" he questioned.

"Objection," Clara's lawyer stood up, "I struggle to see how this line of questioning is relevant to the case at hand, we are not accusing Miss Oswald of adultery."

"Upheld, please move on Mr Taylor," the judge told them.

"So on the day you did not see Miss Oswald in the morning?"

"No, I stayed elsewhere. When I got to work Adrian spoke to me and put me in my place, I went to speak to Clara and it was then that we realised she had never arrived at work," he explained. "I went straight home, calling the police first, Adrian came too."

They went through it all, every fine detail of that day from the moment he got home to the moment they got Clara home. He wasn't quite sure how he got through in one piece but he did, and the day was finally done.

"You were kind of sexy up there," Clara told him in the car, "you did great baby," she told him.

"I did it for you," he replied, pulling into the drive.

"I know, that's why I love you," she smiled and kissed him once he'd parked, "one more day, one more day and the hard work is done."

"Yes, one more day…"

But they both knew it would be the hardest one of the lot.


	24. Chapter 24

She looked so small standing there. Danny watched as Clara took the stand and glanced up at him. He nodded, smiling to her, he knew she could do this. They started asking her questions, going through all the events of the days leading up to the event and then the day itself. He listened, most of this he knew, but it didn't make it much easier to hear in this room, with him looking at her.

Danny couldn't stop glancing over at Fraser, he didn't seem to give any care about what he'd done. They'd hear from him later, that he was really dreading. For now he had to focus on Clara, she was shaking, they were on to what happened in the house.

"He pushed me against the wall, kept going on about how I was letting Tom down, letting him down…" It made Danny so angry hearing what she said about him. Clara continued going into the DVD and how she'd felt. They questioned her feelings, her love for Tom, everything they could touch they did. Fraser almost grinned his way through the defence questioning and Danny felt his fists clenching.

The morning seemed to go on forever, they had so many questions and it was horrible to hear her on the edge of tears for so long. When the lunch break came he was out of the room in a shot to go and meet her. Clara had gone straight into the lawyer's room, Danny was directed in there, hugging her tight, kissing her head. "I love you so much, you did so well up there," he told her. Clara gave in now, crying into his shoulder. It was about 5 minutes before she settled, Danny simply waited.

"I'm sorry, I just needed to get that out," she told him, wiping her eyes, "I'm okay."

"No you're not, but that's okay, you will be. You want some air?" Clara nodded and Danny went out with her, keeping an arm around her. They walked over to a nearby café, picking up a couple of sandwiches but sitting outside on the edge of a fountain to eat.

"I have to listen to him after lunch, I can't do it, who knows what he might say," Clara sighed. Danny put his arm back around her, rubbing her arm.

"It'll all be over in a few hours, you've done your bit. As soon as it's done we can move on," he told her. "Come on, it's time," he stood up, taking her hand. "One last push to the end."

#-#-#-#-#

"You claim that Clara came willingly," the prosecution questioned.

Danny shook his head where he sat, it was so stupid, "yes, I never forced her to come from the car."

"The evidence suggests that Miss Oswald would have been unconscious at the scene, she herself concurs with this reporting that she has no memory between going off the road and waking up in the house, how can she have come willingly?"

"I never forced her anywhere, that house was practically her home, why would I have had to force her there?" Danny hated listening to all this, it was rubbish.

"We already heard her this morning telling us that she never considered that house her home, that Tom and her were looking at buying their own place. That is evidenced by the fact that Tom's will left the house to you rather than Clara."

The questioning kept going, he kept fighting it. Danny spent the whole time fighting the urge to shout out and defend her. Clara just stared at the floor, she couldn't look at him. Eventually it was over, finally over, and he made his way back to his seat. That's when they announced the jury was to leave to make their decision. The evidence was over, there was nothing more anyone could do.

They sat in silence, Clara didn't want to talk. They sat together, Danny held her and Clara leant on him, curling up as much as she could. Adrian arrived just after half 3, being let in and sitting opposite them. Danny greeted him with a nod, glancing to Clara to make a point. Adrian nodded, sitting back.

They waited together, hours passed, nobody moved. 5 o'clock came and the door suddenly opened with someone coming in and speaking with their lawyer quietly. Once he'd gone he turned to them, "they're ready to go back in. Ready?"

"No, but I don't think I really have a choice," Clara sighed, standing up.

"We're right behind you Clara," Adrian told her, "I'll meet you outside Danny," he told him before leaving the room to give him and Clara a moment.

"Whatever happens now I am right here after, I love you, you're strong," he kissed her softly.

They separated and Clara followed the lawyer out and into the courtroom. Danny met up with Adrian and walked around to sit and watch. The jury reappeared, taking their seats. The juror in charge stood up again as instructed.

"Have you all agreed unanimously in your decision?" the judge asked.

"We have," she replied.

"On the charge of unlawful abduction and holding without consent, how do you find the defendant - guilty or not guilty?" Clara held her breath, all possibilities running through her mind. If he got out she would have to face him again, he would never leave her alone.

"Guilty," she replied firmly. There were sighs of relief from all 3 of them, he would definitely go away.

"And on the charge of actual bodily harm, how do you find the defendant - guilty or not guilty?"

"Guilty," that was it. They had him on both. Fraser looked furious, but it didn't matter, he was going away.

Fraser was taken away. Sentencing would be in two weeks, but he was being held in the meantime. Clara wouldn't have to see him again, it was finally over. When they were released Clara ran up to Danny and hugged him tight, finally smiling. He spun her round, kissing her, "I love you so much, I'm so proud of you, he's gone now," Danny told her. Adrian appeared from round the corner and Clara pulled him in to the hug briefly.

"Thank you, both of you, you've been amazing this week. I know I've been horrible to deal with recently, but I can move on now," she smiled. "Let's go home, have dinner. Adrian you should come, you've been a big part of this."

"No, you two deserve some time together, make the most of it. Have a lovely weekend," he smiled and left them. Danny kept her close all the way home. When they got home Danny went in to the kitchen to start on dinner but Clara shook her head, pulling him back through.

"You are not doing any work tonight, you've looked after me all week. However I am also knackered so I'm going to order in and we are going to eat in bed with the TV on," Clara told him.

"That sounds absolutely perfect," Danny replied, "perfect."

#-#-#-#-#

Clara woke up slowly, the sun shining through a small slit in the curtain on to her face. She moved a little closer to Danny out of the light, smiling as she watched him sleeping peacefully. She rested a hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating and the rise and fall of his chest as he took breaths. Danny turned over in his sleep, his arm automatically resting over Clara and then sighing contently. Clara smiled again, watching him before finally falling back to sleep herself.

When she woke again it was a kiss on her forehead that did it. She moved her head slightly as her eyes adjusted, aligning them so she could kiss him. "Good morning," she mumbled a little sleepily.

"Good morning beautiful, that's a lovely smile," he told her, "how are you feeling?"

"Free," Clara told him, taking his hand and linking their fingers. "Can we go to the zoo?" she asked.

"The zoo?" he questioned, unsure that he'd heard correctly.

"Yep, the zoo. I just feel like getting out and we've never been so…" she clarified.

Danny chuckled, nodding, "the zoo sounds wonderful. I guess we should probably get up then," he stated.

"I suppose so," Clara pushed herself up and then both made their way to get ready.

They took public transport to the zoo in the end, therefore allowing them the option of alcohol consumption later in the day. They got inside and started wandering, stopping at various animals to take a look. They kept their arms around each other, Clara felt safer in his arms, even though Fraser was gone it was just a comfort to her. They were stood watching the meerkats when someone placed hands on their shoulders. Clara jumped away a little but Danny pulled her a little closer to tell her it was fine as he turned around and saw Frankie behind them.

"Hey! Sorry I didn't mean to scare you," Frankie apologised.

"Don't worry, long story… how are you? How come you're here?" Danny replied, giving Clara a moment to recover.

"I'm good, here with my sister and her kids - they're in the cafe over there," she pointed, "how about you two? I haven't heard from you in a long time! Too happy in your own world?"

Danny looked to Clara to reply, not knowing what she wanted Frankie to know, "we've had a few troubles to work through…" she started.

"You two?! Nah I don't trust anything could come between you," she replied, but Clara shook her head.

"No no we're fine, I mean there was a blip but… no. Um, long story short I had a bit of a stalker, he's currently behind bars. Taken up a lot of time recently - today is about spending some much needed time together," she explained.

"Explains the jumpiness, I'm really sorry," Frankie replied.

"No, don't be, I don't need pity, it's over now. We're happy. It's really lovely to see you," she smiled.

"Well you know I take full credit for this relationship of course," Frankie pointed out, "have you two set a date yet?"

"Maybe," Danny winked, "you'll just have to wait and see won't you?" she rolled her eyes, "July 25th, you gonna turn up?"

"I might do," she shrugged but then grinned, "couldn't keep me away if you wanted to, you know that," Frankie nudged him. Clara chuckled as Frankie grabbed him for a hug that Danny clearly wasn't expecting. She noted the eye contact from Frankie telling her she wanted a private word and Clara nodded to her while Danny's back was turned.

"I'm gonna go grab a tea from the café, did you want anything either of you?" Clara asked.

"Tea sounds good, I can come with you?" Danny checked, but Clara shook her head.

"No no you two catch up, I can manage tea," she kissed him quickly before disappearing off into the building.

Frankie moved so they were both leaning against a nearby wall, "how are you doing? And I mean you singular, not Clara," she asked.

"I'm okay, it's been a stressful couple of weeks but we're getting there," he replied.

"See, there with the 'we' again. I can see you're tired, I'm pretty sure Clara can see you're tired but she doesn't want to bother you, so talk to me," Frankie asked him quite sternly.

"I guess I've not slept that well recently. I've been so focussed on Clara and making sure she's okay that I've neglected myself to an extent. She knows that, she had to put me straight the other day before I gave evidence at the trial. I can't let her down again," he glanced over to the cafe where Clara was inside buying tea.

"What do you mean again Danny, you haven't let her down - you've been there all the way," she replied.

"That's just it, I wasn't there the day it happened. The man who hurt her, it was her ex's brother and he got to me, he managed to convince me she was cheating and I believed it. That's how he got to her, she was alone the next morning because of that…" Danny sighed, "he really hurt her. Made her crash her car, kidnapped her, locked her in her dead fiancé's bedroom and forced her to watch old videos of them… afterwards… god it was horrible Frankie," he looked up at her, anger in his eyes. "He's going away, but what he did will always be there."

Frankie shook her head, putting a hand on his reassuringly, "Danny Pink you never change. Clara loves you, she quite clearly doesn't blame you for what happened and she definitely wants you to be happy. What happened won't go away in an instant, but this day out is the start of a new chapter for you, can't you see that?" he looked a little blank, "men, you're all the same!"

Clara appeared again, handing Danny his tea and looking at them both, "why are we complaining about men now?"

"Your fiancé is being an idiot," Frankie informed her.

"Yes, but what's new?" Clara asked, immediately moving to dodge the hit from Danny, sticking her tongue out at him when he looked miffed. "You're my idiot though," she winked and he rolled his eyes, smiling slightly.

Faith stood up, "I'll leave you guys to it, speak to you soon," she smiled and walked off. Clara took her place against the wall, sipping at her tea.

"What's wrong?" she asked, leaning close to him, he gave her a confused look but she shook her head, "no - talk."

"I… I'm scared of letting you down again," he spoke honestly.

"Again? When did you let me down before?" she asked.

"When I let _that man_ convince me you were cheating. I believed him, that's what led to all this," Clara watched him look away from her, he was really hurt.

"Danny no, stop that right now. You never let me down, not at all, you were there for me when I needed you most, he would have got to me eventually. We can't change the past Danny, it's gone - happened, but the trial is over. We know he'll go away for a long time and that's all that matters now. We can move on, we have a wedding to plan! I want to get back to where we were - happy, content, excitable, a little bit cheeky," she smiled, "I love you so much Danny Pink," Clara leant in and kissed him quickly but softly. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Ditto," he kept their foreheads together for just a moment longer before sitting up, "shall we keep going?" Clara nodded, standing up properly. "Fresh start?"

"Clean blackboard," Clara replied and they moved off again, heading towards the apes.

#-#-#-#-#

They stopped on the way home for dinner at their favourite restaurant. Danny ordered a bottle of Clara's favourite wine and they were both happily sipping at their glasses, spare hands linked across the table. "This is so lovely," Clara rubbed a thumb over the back of his hand. "When was the last time we did this?"

"I have no idea, but we definitely need to do it more often," he smiled.

"Definitely… listen Danny, I was thinking that maybe we should-" Clara went silent, Danny watched her face - he knew what was happening. He moved out of his chair, trying to be as discreet as possible but making sure she kept upright. "What you doing there?" she asked after a few moments. Danny moved back to his chair, "oh… did I…?" he nodded.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she smiled, "don't worry - just a one off. Anyway, what was I saying?" Clara asked, "oh yeah, I think we should get away next weekend, I want to take you somewhere."

"Anywhere in particular?" Danny asked, deciding to dismiss the seizure for now and approach it at home.

"A surprise, to thank you for everything," she told him, "I could never have got through this without you." Danny smiled gently, but didn't reply. "Don't put yourself down mister, you've done a lot. Next weekend yes?" he nodded, "good."

#-#-#-#-#

Going back to work was never going to be straightforward, but having the weekend together and relaxing was helpful. Clara was up early, getting herself organised. When Danny came down she'd just finished packing her bag and stood up from the sofa, skipping over to him and hugging him tight, kissing him softly.  
"Good morning, how are you?"

Danny smiled, pushing her hair back behind her ear, "you look beautiful today, and much too happy for a Monday morning." Clara chuckled and kissed him once more before stepping back.

"Breakfast?" she asked and they both made their way through to the kitchen. "I'm just glad to be getting back to work with this essentially behind us, I've really missed being insulted by teenagers…" Clara chuckled, making up the tea while Danny sorted out food.

"You're really strange you know that?" he grinned, sitting down at the table.

"I just love my job," Clara told him, "maybe too much," she smiled, sipping her tea. "Are you ready to go? I need to get in and catch up," she stood up but Danny grabbed her hand.

"Of course, but eat first," he told her. Clara shrugged, sitting back down.

She didn't eat really, in truth she was terrified of going back - who knew what people were going to say, but she did love her job and she didn't want Danny to spend the day checking up on her. When they arrived at work he left her at her room - she made some excuse about wanting to get the room back how she liked it to avoid going to the staffroom before the meeting.

Nothing needed doing to the room, she'd not been gone that long. Clara set-up for her first lesson and then sat in her chair, flicking through emails.  
"Hey stranger," Clara jumped at the voice and looked up to see Georgia at the door. She stepped in, shutting the door behind her. "How're you doing?"

Clara quickly sat up, smiling, "very happy to be back, I've missed this place. I hear you've all survived without me," she grinned.

"Just about, you know it's hard work without your motherly ways," Clara rolled her eyes and Georgia chuckled, sitting up on one of her desks. "So how are you really?"

"My crazy ex almost brother-in-law is behind bars so I'm much better thanks, plus I've got a lovely weekend away planned so that's only 4 days away," she smiled again, but Georgia raised her eyebrows. "What?"

"I've spent years living with my mother telling me she's fine when she's not - I'm practically an expert on it now," Georgia spoke sincerely.

Clara sighed, she was right - Georgia had been through enough to know exactly what she was doing. "Just tell me you haven't spoken to Danny?"

"No, because I know this is mostly for his benefit, but you've been through alot and kids can be cruel," Georgia told her, "I know you love your job, I know you've missed being here, but that doesn't take away from the nerves."

"How did you get to be so wise?" Clara asked, almost proud to hear her talking like that.

"I had a great teacher," Georgia winked, "just take it easy today, you know we're all behind you and if anyone kicks off just grab Adrian because he's been brutal in the last week," she grinned.

"I've got good friends, I'm very lucky - thank you. How are you doing?" Clara asked.

"You know me, I always get by," she smiled, hopping up off the desk. Clara raised an eyebrow.

"Who is she?" Clara asked, but Georgia just shrugged.

"Don't know what you're talking about," Georgia replied. "We have a meeting to go to."

"I'll get it out of you," Clara smirked and Georgia rolled her eyes before leaving to go to the meeting.

Plenty of people gave her sympathetic looks but nobody was able to talk to her thanks to the meeting. She sat with Danny while they were talked through various bits and as soon as it was finished Clara disappeared back through to her room, followed by Adrian who had been watching her closely during the meeting.

"Good to be back?" he asked - now he probably had been talking to Danny.

"Definitely, anything is better than that courtroom and being stuck at home is really not my thing. How was your weekend?" she tried to turn the conversation.

"Not so bad, quite productive, I hear you went to the zoo?" Definitely been talking to Danny then, she wondered how much he'd said.

Clara sat down, logging in to her computer to get the register up ready for her tutor, "we did, it was a lovely day actually. Bumped into one of Danny's friends and went out for dinner after. We had a really good time."

"Danny said you had another seizure in the restaurant," Adrian walked over to her.

Clara rolled her eyes and stood up, going over to the board to write on it. "I'm fine, we alway knew this could happen again, but it's the only one all weekend and I feel great so please don't start." She chucked a pen at him. "Make yourself useful and put that in the bin, and then you need to go to tutor. I appreciate your concern, but I promise it's fine."

Adrian nodded, getting the picture and dropping the pen in the bin, "got the message - see you later." She felt a little cruel after he'd left the room, but she knew there was very little to worry about.

Clara got on with her morning like she always did. Her tutor were quieter than always, but she went with it. First lesson was straightforward, year 7s were generally undeterred by gossip thankfully, but second was always going to be more challenging. The year 11s walked in chattering and giggling to themselves, sitting down and only shutting up when she bashed on the desk. "Supply teachers might let you get away with this, but you know full well I do not," she told her rather stunned pupils. "Right, film coursework! Deadline is next week, you should have been working on it in your lessons last week so you'd better all pull it out and I'll come round and see where you're all at. Keep working." They all leant down into their bags giving Clara a moment to breath and go over to shut the door. She walked around the room, trying to assess where they had got to in her time off. By the time she'd got round her conclusion was disappointingly not that far. She sighed, standing back at the front and getting their attention again.

"What on earth were you lot doing in those lessons? Because I'm not betting on any work being involved. I spent a large proportion of last week marking your last lot of coursework and it was really promising so I really _really_ don't want to mark this one and find the complete opposite! We had plenty of lessons on the film so there's no reason why you aren't more than capable of writing this - you're supposed to be my top set!" Clara told them, "right - we're going to go over some of the key points today and I expect you all to come in on Wednesday with a lot more progress than this." Clara turned around, going to get something up on the board when she heard them whispering behind her. She shook her head, getting the powerpoint up turning back around at which point they all stopped. "Look if you lot have got something to say then go ahead and say it," she waited for a moment.

"We um…" one of the pupils spoke up, but stopped. Clara put a hand on her hip, waiting. Suddenly one of the more mouthy pupils, Karen, stood up at the back.

"Did Mr T's brother really kidnap you?" she asked outright. To this day Clara never understood why they called Tom Mr T, but it was just a thing. "I mean that's pretty mental right?"

"Yes Karen it is 'pretty mental'" she made the quote marks with her fingers, "but it's also none of your business. Last week I wasn't here, this week I am, a lot of things have happened that you probably haven't stopped gossiping about for the last few weeks and I'm sure you've had a fantastic time making up things about me but that stops here and now - got it?" Karen didn't sit down.

"But Miss, it is a little weird that you're already engaged again," she asked the question that Clara had feared everyone was thinking.

"SIT DOWN!" Clara shouted at her instinctively. Karen sat, almost in shock at her reaction. "My private life is NONE of your business. None. But just so you know, it's called moving on. It's called closure. It's called taking my life back. For all it matters - you all saw what I was like last year, do you want that teacher back?" There were a few shakes of the heads, "good, because you're not getting her. Whatever you all like to think, gossip about or whatever it is you do we are your teachers - not your friends, not your playground pals. Our private lives are none of your business! Got that?!" A stunned silence. "Good. Now back to Jaws."

They barely spoke a single word for the rest of the lesson. they listened, they took notes, but they didn't argue. Clara taught as normal, her speech was the end of it as far as she was concerned, but she was grateful for the breaktime bell as they all left. Danny appeared merely moments later, leaning against the doorframe as she tidied up. "Clara Oswald you are causing a stir," he grinned.

"What you talking about?" she asked, "don't just stand there fool, there's so much paper on this floor it's ridiculous and it's only 11." Danny walked in, shutting the door behind him.

"Apparently you had a little rant at your year 11s?" Clara spun round, "a few pupils were walking by your room at the wrong time. Nice work though," he told her. Clara sighed, putting the paper in the recycling bin.

"I couldn't just say nothing, they were doing my head in," she explained. Danny joined her, both leaning against her desk. Clara leant her head on his shoulder, "did I do the right thing? Shouting at them like that?"

"Yes, you did. You're a teacher, discipline is part of the job. You made a point and I'm actually fairly sure it'll work. These kids respect you, they worry about you too. You're a good teacher and this is proof of that," he told her, kissing her head softly.

"Only good?" Clara asked him, smirking a little. Danny hit her gently and they both laughed.

"Humble with it," Danny told her and they both stood up. "Come on, let's get tea."


	25. Chapter 25

Clara decided not to go to the sentencing hearing. She made the excuse that it was nearing exam time and she needed to get things moving with her classes, but Danny knew she just didn't want to see him. They had instead agreed that he would go to find out, although Clara's lawyer would contact her otherwise.

The hearing started at 2 so Danny left after the morning lessons were over, briefly stopping by on his way out.  
"You don't have to do this for me, it shouldn't be your problem," Clara put a hand around his waist and Danny kissed her head softly.

"If it's your problem then it's my problem, that'll never change. Besides - today all we need to worry about is how long, we know he's going down. Are you sure you're okay here?" he asked.

"Year 11s this afternoon, they're practically terrified of me now, I'll be fine," she grinned and stepped back, still holding his hand. "I'll see you at home, Adrian said he'll drop me back," Clara kissed him quickly and Danny left, leaving her to her afternoon.

He arrived at the court in plenty of time, hanging around until they could go in. He sat in the same place he had previously, keeping out of sight of Fraser unless he was to turn around completely. It also made him easy to see for Clara, but that was irrelevant now, although her lawyer had glanced his way and nodded briefly. Fraser walked in shortly after, being led to his seat by guards - something that made Danny unnaturally happy.

The trial seemed to go on for far too long. Danny listened as each side gave their final statements, citing arguments for length of sentencing and so forth. It was mildly amusing to listen to the attempts from the defence given the situation. Fraser barely moved this time, not responding quite as animated as he had done previously.

Finally the time came and the judge began to speak. He went through all his reasoning before finally giving everyone the information they wanted. "You have caused undue emotional damage and seem to have very little remorse and it is for that reason that I sentence you to life with a minimum of 20 years before parole." Danny finally breathed, unsure quite how long he'd been holding his breath for. He was out of their lives, it was finally over.

Fraser looked defeated, he was led away and Danny couldn't help but smile as he saw him leave. It was only when he stood up he realised there were two people waiting for him.  
"Are you Clara's new fiancé?" the male asked. He tried to judge their ages - maybe mid fifties? Could they be…?

"Who's asking?" he couldn't be too careful given the situation.

"We're Tom and Fraser's parents," the woman replied, "we were hoping Clara would be here today." Danny thought back, he was sure Clara said they no longer spoke to her. They hadn't even been at the trial.

"I don't mean to be blunt, but I know the situation between you is far from simple," Danny told them.

"We've made mistakes… we were hoping to apologise," Tom's father explained. Danny had to think for a moment, they seemed genuine.

"She's been working, exam time coming up - it wasn't necessary for her to be here," he looked at the clock, "okay, if you want you can come back to ours. Just briefly, she'll be home soon, you can say your peace."

They seemed grateful and Danny gave them the address, telling them to leave 10 minutes after him to allow him to sort the house out. He made his way out, already beginning to wonder if this was a good idea but it was too late now. When he arrived home he went round and quickly tidied around the lounge, filling the kettle and flicking it on as the doorbell went. He went over, opening it to let them in.

"Thank you for this, we won't stay any longer than necessary - we appreciate how difficult this has been for you both," Tom's Dad said as Danny shut the door.

"I'm not sure you can, you've not even been at the trial," Danny wasn't going to beat about the bush here, but they didn't seem to complain.

"No, we weren't," they followed Danny through to the lounge and sat down as offered. "We were ashamed of what happened, it was a mistake not turning up to the trial, but we've heard all about what happened and we couldn't keep away any longer. The bitterness that occurred after Tom's death has got out of control, it was uncalled for from our family, Clara certainly didn't deserve any of that."

"No, she didn't," all 3 of them looked round - Clara must have come in quietly because none of them noticed her until she spoke. "I need to change, you know where the front door is," she added before going upstairs. Danny sighed, standing up and telling them to stay in the lounge, following Clara upstairs. He shut the bedroom door and the moment he had, Clara started. "What are they doing here?!" she spoke loud enough to show how upset she was.

"I knew it was risky, but they just wanted to apologise. They were at the hearing, you heard what they said just then - they regret what happened between you. Maybe you should just hear them out?" Clara sat down heavily on the bed, her head in her hands. "Has your lawyer rung yet?" he asked and she shook her head. He sat down beside her, placing one hand on her knee.

"He got life, minimum of 20 years before parole, he's gone Clara," she looked up at him, "you're safe now - and those two people downstairs are more worried about you than about their son. Come down, just give them 5 minutes. That's all I'm asking, it's all they're asking." She thought about it for a moment, staring back at the floor.

"5 minutes, but that's all," she told him. "You owe me," she smirked a little, hitting his arm before standing up and going downstairs. Danny followed at a slight distance, allowing her to go in first. Clara walked in, both Tom's parents watching her as she sat down opposite them. "I'm listening," she told them and sat back.

"We can't imagine how difficult this has been for you, what Fraser did was unacceptable. I think for a while we didn't want to believe what had happened because he'd sucked the whole family in to this hatred against you and we were ashamed. The idea of facing either of you in the court room was unthinkable - so we didn't. But we did know someone who had gone and they kept us up to date and the more we heard, the more we knew how wrong he had been. Once the date for the setencing came through we knew we had to come and apologise. Tom loved you, he would never have wanted any of this." Clara bit her lip slightly, looking down. This wasn't easy to hear, it was lovely, knowing they'd finally seen sense, but the emotions were a little too much.

"One of your son's is dead, the other is in prison for at least the next 20 years, both because of me," she said without looking up.

"Don't be stupid Clara," Clara jumped a little when Tom's Mum sat on the sofa beside her - she hadn't noticed her move. "Tom's death has never and will never be your fault, it was a freak accident Clara. As for Fraser's actions, they were completely down to him. We are ashamed, we let you down after Tom died."

"I've had Adrian, and Danny more recently," she shrugged.

"That's not the point, we were practically your in laws and yet the moment Tom was gone we practically abandoned you. Clara none of this has been fair on you, we need to apologise for that." Clara finally looked up, making eye contact with her. "I'm so sorry," Tom's Mum spoke sincerely and opened her arms and Clara leaned in to hug her. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Clara sat back, wiping at her eyes. "We have no plans to go and see Fraser, he's sentenced himself to lonely years ahead."

"But he's your son…" Clara replied.

Tom's Dad chipped in now. "No son of mine treats anyone like he's treated you," he told her, sitting forward, "we were hoping you might keep in contact? We understand if it's difficult for you, but you were always so much like the daughter we never had and we don't have any children to treat now," he smiled. Clara didn't reply immediately, looking up to Danny who had been keeping an eye from the corner of the room. He just smiled, nodding.

"You don't have to treat me, but… well, it might be nice to see you," Clara smiled.

"We'd like to get to know you as well Danny, it's clear you care a lot about Clara," Tom's Dad turned to him. "It's fairly clear you come as a package now." They all smiled slightly at that.

"It'd be lovely to get to know you too," Danny replied, "why don't I rustle up something for dinner? I'm sure we're all pretty hungry after today."

Clara stood up, "I'll come and make drinks, can I get you anything?" She took orders for tea from Tom's parents and made her way into the kitchen with him, shutting the door.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked her once the door was shut. Clara leant into him, clearly emotionally tired after today. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed…"

"No, you did the right thing, they really meant what they just said. Before everything we got on so well, I'd go and visit even without Tom sometimes, but after he died… I just hadn't realised it was all down to Fraser. Are you okay with this?"

Danny nodded, "if they're part of your life then they're part of mine Clara, that's how this works." He kissed her softly, "I love you, I'm glad things can finally get back to normal now."

"Speaking of which, that trip we never had last weekend," she began, "how do you fancy going after work tomorrow?"

"Going where exactly?" he asked, moving to get food out.

"My secret, but it's Friday tomorrow and I love you, and I want to show you something that's important to me," she told him, sorting out drinks.

"Alright, it's a deal. Dinner will only be about 10 minutes," he told her as she picked up the mugs, taking them through.

When Danny arrived with dinner they all sat up at the table, tucking in. There was silence for awhile, nobody really sure what to say.  
"This is really good," Tom's Mum told Danny.

"I just chucked it together really, sorry it's nothing more fancy," Danny replied and Clara rolled her eyes.

"He's an amazing cook, just refuses to admit it," Clara pointed out, "honestly just be glad he's cooked."

"Oh I am," Tom's Dad grinned and Clara shook her head, a small smile on her face as she tried to look offended.

"That was one time, and I genuinely didn't mean to give everyone food poisoning…" Danny almost spat his drink out as he burst out laughing, all of them chuckling slightly. "Danny Pink you're meant to be on my side!"

He sorted himself out a little and looked at her, "you gave everyone food poisoning?!" Clara put her head in her hands, still laughing a little.

"It was an accident! I'm also a much better cook now than I was then, but it was the first meal I cooked for Greg and Marlene, so maybe not the greatest of first impressions…" Danny was almost in hysterics. "Oh my gosh I hate you!" Clara hit him gently.

"Luckily it didn't put us off too much," Marlene replied, "and it did actually taste nice on the day…"

"Silver linings," Clara replied, "you were so nice about it to be fair," she smiled as they all finally stopped laughing.

"Well we did actually quite like you, despite the illness," Greg replied, "but back to this food - you've definitely got a winner here Clara."

"Mmm I'm lucky," she smiled, finally getting back to eating.

They all finished up, sitting back and continuing chatting. Clara held Danny's hand almost instinctively, but she felt relaxed. They were having a laugh, chatting away, she finally felt like she had some sort of family back. Speaking of which…

"How's your Dad?" Marlene asked. Clara instinctively groaned but realised they were only trying to be polite. Thankfully Danny saved her.

"They've not spoken a lot recently, things are difficult. We haven't seen him since new year," he explained.

"Oh? What's happened, is he alright?" Greg questioned, Danny scoffed.

"There's nothing wrong with him, well not physically, but since I've been in the picture he's managed to not visit his daughter in hospital or support her through a kidnapping trial. At new year he said he wanted a fresh start but I'm not really seeing that," he was angry, that much was obvious. Clara squeezed his hand gently, shaking her head.

"It's fine Danny," she spoke quietly.

"No it's not, he's your Dad!" Danny replied, "you were seriously ill and he couldn't drive 200 miles back from his holiday to see you!"

"What happened?" Marlene was looking concerned, Clara sighed softly, wishing she could have got in before Danny and dodged this question.

"I was having absence seizures, except we didn't know that and then one day I collapsed on the stairs and stabbed myself with a knife… it's fine though, I'm fine. Honestly we don't have to go through this, the issues with my Dad aren't your problem," she smiled, "I'm well looked after."

"It's not fair on you though sweetheart," Marlene replied, "listen, if you need anything you know where we are right? Do you still have our numbers?" Clara nodded, "good." She looked up at the clock, "we'll leave you two be now, but the offer stands whenever."

"That's really appreciated, thank you both," Danny replied as he spotted Clara struggling, "we'll have to have you round again."

They all stood up, saying the relevant goodbyes. Once the door shut Clara almost fell into Danny's arms and he hugged her tight. "Don't cry beautiful," he kissed her head but she stood up, shaking her head.

"I'm not sad, not really. I've come to terms with everything with my Dad already, I'm just so happy to have the feeling that someone cares, I mean someone other than you, someone I see as a parental figure. I was really close to Marlene and Greg, Marlene especially, it broke my heart not to be able to talk to her anymore. Fraser is gone too, I finally feel free," she kissed him softly, "come on, we have work tomorrow," she told him, going to tidy.

#-#-#-#

When the school day ended they quickly rushed home to pack before heading off. Clara, still unable to drive, was directing Danny who still had no idea where they were going. They had music on, singing along as they drove up the motorway.

"Hey, off here," Clara pointed at the exit and Danny headed in the direction. "Then right at the roundabout," she smiled.

"Got ya, still not going to tell me?" Danny asked and Clara shook her head, smirking. "I mean I've gathered we're up near your home area…"

"You're still getting nothing out of me, turn left at the next junction," she chuckled at his attempts, "a surprise is a surprise. Right," she instructed.

"These lanes are getting smaller and smaller Miss Oswald I do hope you know what you're doing," he drove carefully. Clara rolled her eyes at him and giggled as he continued driving cluelessly.

"Okay slow down, the entrance is just up on the left," she watched carefully, "just after that signpost," Clara pointed and Danny nodded, turning in. He drove up the long drive, only stopping when he saw the cottage.

"Clara Oswald what on earth? This place must cost a fortune - it's huge! There's only 2 of us you know," he parked up and switched the engine off.

"It costs me nothing, I just had to check it was free," she smiled, jumping out of the car and pulling their bags out of the boot. "It belonged to my Mum's parents, they left it to her but obviously… well anyway, she left it to me. Dad looks after it mostly, it's used as a holiday cottage but it's often free out of season, and I can book it out whenever I want. "Come on let's get inside," Clara told him and led him inside.

Danny followed, "it's really lovely," he told her as he looked around. Clara dropped the bags by the stairs and went back him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Wait till I show you the area tomorrow, you'll love it," she kissed him, "right now though I'm starving - there's food in the fridge, can you work your magic?" Clara smiled and kissed him once more before letting him go.

Danny cooked them dinner and they settled on the sofa together, "I was thinking," Danny started as he finished eating.

"Careful, that's dangerous," Clara interrupted and chuckled, still finishing up her meal.

"Cheeky sod," he replied, "but really, I was thinking that our wedding is getting ever closer and we need to think about the final details like… the guest list?" Clara nodded, looking up.

"I guess we need to each get a list together and compare?" she suggested. "I need to organise a dress trip with Grace too," Clara smiled. "I can't believe this is real, it's happening,"

"It's also only 4 months away," Danny smiled and kissed her softly.

"You mean I've put up with you for 8 months? Bloody hell that deserves an award," she chuckled and Danny quickly grabbed her, tickling her. Clara squealed, kicking out but giggling, "Danny stop!"

"Only when you apologise!" he told her, not letting her go.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry!" she shouted and he finally stopped, chuckling as they settled back. "That was mean," Clara took deep breaths.

Danny grinned, "you deserved that," he winked, "Luckily I love you a lot." Clara grinned, standing up, "hey where you going?"

Clara grabbed his hand, "come on, let me show you the bedroom," she smiled, pulling him up, "I promise you'll love it," she winked.

"I'm not sure I'll be paying much attention…" he grinned and followed her upstairs.

#-#-#-#

The next morning Clara woke to see Danny still asleep, she smiled and settled in his grasp, staring out of the window where the sun was miraculously shining over the nearby hills. She had every plan of taking Danny out there today, back to the places she would spend hours with her parents as a child.

After a little time lying there she started to get a little impatient and moved her way out of Danny's arms, grabbing the dressing gown off the door and heading downstairs. She started to tidy up the mess they'd left from dinner last night, putting dishes in the dishwasher and clearing the kitchen. Once that was done she got going on some breakfast, getting pancakes ready to take upstairs, something her Mum would often make when they were away here.

"Good morning sleepyhead," Clara smiled as she walked in with the tray with breakfast, placing it on the edge of the bed before sitting back on the bed. Danny had clearly only just woken up, slowly sitting up and working out what was going on. Clara chuckled at his slight sleepy confusion and kissed him gently.

"How long have you been up?" he asked. Danny finally started to clock what was going on, "you didn't have to make breakfast."

"It's the one thing I can actually cook really well, don't knock it," Clara smiled and picked the tray up again, bringing it closer. "It's not been that long, I just wanted to get things tidy downstairs. Then I got hungry," she grinned.

"Well I'm not complaining," Danny smiled and tucked in, "what's the plan then?" he asked.

Clara started eating too, "look out the window," she told him and he duly did, "see the middle hill? We're heading up there. It's my favourite, it has the best views."

"Looks like the perfect day for it," Danny replied, "best finish this up and get ready then?" Clara nodded and carried on tucking in to the food. As soon as they could they got themselves up and suitably dressed. Clara sorted out some food for them to take up the hill and stuck it in a backpack.

"You ready love?" Clara asked, "I've got food and drink." Danny appeared with his walking boots on, ready to go. "Very handsome," she smiled and kissed him. "Let's go." Clara took his hand, leading him out.

They walked up together, chasing each other occasionally and laughing their way up. When they'd finally made it up Clara mocked a collapse to the floor, breathing deeply as they'd run the last hundred metres. "Wimp," Danny grinned but Clara stuck her leg out so he fell, making sure to help catch his fall. They both ended up lying on the floor, giggling while slightly out of breath.

"Why did I think racing you was a good idea?" Clara chuckled, "you've practically been trained in this."

"You never stood a chance," he grinned, taking her hand as they stared at the sky. "Tell me more about this place then." Danny played with her fingers and Clara smiled.

"You're the only person I've ever bought up here," she started. Danny opened his mouth to reply but she knew what he was going to say, "yes, even Tom. I was going to, but time kept getting away from us and we never quite made it. This is my favourite place, I would sit up here for hours. My parents used to go spare before they realised, I'd just disappear for hours on end without telling them where I was going. Sometimes I'd read, sometimes I'd write, sometimes I'd just stare out at the view or the clouds. After my Mum died I begged Dad to bring me here all the time, it was the one place I felt truly at peace, I'd come up here and talk to her. We'd do that too, sometimes, we'd both just come up here…" Clara sighed contentedly, "so many happy things have happened up here."

"Well I'm honoured to be up here, it's beautiful," Danny replied, kissing her hand gently. "What did you want to do now then?"

"This, this is good," Clara smiled, "I um, I had an alternate reason for bringing you up here," she sat up now, looking out at the view. Danny followed. "You know how I told you so many happy things had happened up here?" He nodded and Clara reached for the rucksack, opening the side pocket and pulling a packet out. "Open this."

Danny took the box off her and opened it. As he did something dropped out. He reached over, picking up what had fallen out and looked at it. "I…" Clara smiled at his face, "this is what I think it is right? I'm not imagining this?"

"You're not, but there's something else in the box too," she told him and he looked inside, pulling a picture out.

"How…? I don't understand…" Danny replied, almost lost for words.

"Well you see when two people love each other very much…" Clara began and Danny rolled his eyes, hitting her playfully and grinning. "I ignored all the signs, I put it down to stress. I only found out this week, I went to get the scan done while you were at the hearing and I was going to tell you then but everything happened with Greg and Marlene and then it occurred to me that we hadn't come up here and it would be the perfect place." Clara explained, leaning into him.

"And how far? I'm no expert but that looks kinda big?" Danny looked at the picture, still looking a little shocked.

"24 weeks…" she replied a little sheepishly.

"24?! But shouldn't it be obvious?" Danny gestured to her stomach.

"You'd think we'd have noticed… I mean the bump is tiny, I was worried when they said that, but they said it can be with some people - the baby is fine," Clara lifted her top up slightly and lay back down. "It's there though, when you know, it's there." Danny looked down and slowly moved his hand to rest on her stomach. "There's just one thing…"

"You're due 2 weeks before the wedding, I already did the maths," he smiled gently, "I guess we'll have to prepare for all eventualities," Danny kissed her stomach softly and then moved to kiss her properly. "This is our family now, whatever happens it's all about us."

"I really love you, did I mention that?" Clara smiled and looked back out at the scenery. .


	26. Chapter 26

In the 3 weeks after they returned from the cottage Clara practically ballooned. It was getting increasingly difficult to hide the bump at work and they knew they were going to have to tell everyone so that morning Clara had purposefully dressed so the bump was more obvious.

Danny smiled when she walked back into the room and slipped his arms around her from behind to rest his hands on the bump. Clara's hands joined his as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "You look beautiful," he kissed her neck gently, "are you ready?"

"I think so…" she told him, "is it weird that I'm more scared of the pupils than the teachers?" Clara turned in his arms, wrapping hers around his shoulders.

"No, they're terrifying, but they are just kids. You're going to be fine," he swept her hair back behind her ear and kissed her gently. "Can you believe we're doing this?"

"No, but I'm happy," she smiled softly. "Come on, we will be late."

#-#-#-#

They walked into the staffroom as normal, ignoring the reactions of everyone as they did. Adrian very quickly ran over to her, Clara smiled at him a little sheepishly - maybe he should have broken the news to him first.

"Clara Oswald you cheeky mare! Where did this come from?!" he asked, gesturing to the bump. "And why on earth didn't you tell me?!"

"You know full well where it came from! But it's all happened kind of quickly, I ignored the signs for ages and my bump was really small till the last couple of weeks. I've only known for 3 weeks," she told him.

"I've seen you a lot in the last 3 weeks," Adrian teased, "you look positively radiant, I'm happy for you," he hugged her. "So how far along?"

Danny joined her having been collared by a couple of others on his way through, he slipped an arm around her waist as Clara continued talking.

"27 weeks tomorrow, I'm due 2 weeks before the wedding so it's gonna be a little tight," she chuckled.

"The dress or the timing?" Adrian asked and Clara hit him gently, rolling her eyes. "Well you know I'm here whatever you need, both of you." She smiled and hugged him again.

"I'm lucky to have you," she told Adrian who returned the smile and left them to it.

Many more people came over to them as the early morning went on and they went through all the wider details with each of them. Clara was grateful for the bell going, it was getting too boring repeating the same answers over and over.

Weirdly the reaction from the pupils was minimal. They walked in, a couple of them pointed at her bump before sitting down but very little was said to her directly. In fact she made it to the end of the day before she got any real answers.

"I told you!" Courtney pointed at her as she walked in with her friends. "I knew it."

"You practically told the whole school, we all knew it," Kathryn grinned as they sat down.

"Knew what exactly?" Clara asked her, approaching her desk.

"That you're pregnant, duh, it was so obvious," Courtney rolled her eyes. "Mr Pink has been so overprotective in the last few weeks there was only one explanation."

"Well I applaud your observational skills, maybe you can use them to analyse the text in front of you this afternoon?" Clara smirked and walked off, shutting them up.

Danny came into the room a few minutes after the school day had ended and was quite surprised at how cheery Clara appeared to be."You look very happy," he pointed out.

"I'm sorry I can look sad if that makes you feel better?" she questioned and chuckled. "Make yourself useful and pick up the paper off the floor," she chucked the paper bin at him which he caught.

"So how was it then?" he asked. They'd barely seen each other all day as they generally didn't on Mondays.

"Well apparently the rumour had already been spread, so it wasn't a huge surprise to any of them!" Clara chuckled. "I spoke to Arthur at lunch, the process is moving, I'll be gone in 9 weeks," she smiled a little nervously. "In 3 months we may well have a child Danny…" suddenly it hit her.

"Hey, look at me," Danny stopped her, putting the bin down. "I love you, you're going to be an amazing Mum," he kissed her gently, "they'll cry the wedding down," he chuckled and held her close. "Come on let's get home, we can tidy in the morning."

#-#-#-#

9 weeks went fast, really fast, and suddenly Clara was home while Danny went out to work and she was already bored out of her mind. She lay on the sofa, flicking through the TV channels and rubbing her bump gently.

 _Having a good day? xx_

She text Danny in the hope of some distraction.

 _I've been gone 2 hours, is it that bad? xx_

Clara chuckled a little at his reply, he knew her well.

 _I'm really bored, what am I supposed to do? This is only day 1! xx_

She knew Danny would be rolling his eyes at the phone.

 _Go for a walk? xx_

He had a point, it was being cooped up in the house that was getting her down. 36 weeks pregnant or not, she was still not one for staying indoors.

 _That's a plan. Sorry for distracting you xx_

Danny stopped replying at that point, but then he was mid-lesson so it wasn't a huge surprise. Clara stood herself up and slipped her shoes on, grabbing her keys and purse and made her way out of the door.

She wasn't far down the road when the pains started, but she dismissed them, rubbing her stomach gently and whispering to it to settle down. It didn't though, a little while later the same pain returned and Clara had to stop and sit down on a nearby bench. Someone nearby walked over, sitting down beside her.

"Are you okay love?" she asked, looking concerned. Clara smiled, the pain passing.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's passing. No problem," she smiled and stood up, but suddenly she felt something.

"I think it might be a problem now," the stranger pointed at the wet patch on the floor, "can I call someone for you?"

Clara suddenly started to panic, "it's too soon, this shouldn't be happening," she sat back down in shock. "I don't know what to do!"

The stranger seemed less worried than she was, definitely calmer. "Where's the father?"

"Working, he's working," Clara tried to take deep breaths but it wasn't helping much, "I need to call him," she pulled her phone out but another wave of pain took over.

"You need to get to the hospital love, my car is just down the road, I can take you. I'm a nurse at the hospital see," she pulled out her ID, "always keep that on me - you never know. Come on, you can call him on the way," she told Clara and helped her up and to the car.

Danny ran into the maternity ward and was quickly directed to Clara who was sat up in bed, currently between contractions. She smiled at Danny as he came in, holding out a hand that he took.  
"Are you okay?" he asked, kissing her quickly and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, it's early, but they said there shouldn't be too many problems and it's all looking good. They also said it could be a while," she sighed, "not sure I'm really feeling enthused about that."

"I'm sure it's okay sweetheart," Danny replied innocently and he immediately for a clip round the ear as another contraction started. Clara grabbed his hand on purpose and squeezed her way through it. "Okay I take it back you're breaking my hand!"

"That's the deal here I'm afraid," the midwife arrived in the room at that moment and told him. "Are you sure you don't want any pain relief?" Clara shook her head quickly.

"No. The gas and air is fine," she spoke through the pain and finally relaxed as it settled.

"Clara you're in pain…" Danny looked concerned.

"Really? I hadn't noticed?" Clara rolled her eyes, "I don't want any, I want to be able to feel it," she told him honestly and Danny could see she meant it. "I need to," she finished.

"Then you can squeeze my hand as much as you like," he kissed her hand softly. "A broken hand would be worth it," he chuckled and Clara smiled.

"Now we've cleared that up I just need to do some quick obs," the midwife interrupted their moment as politely as she could and got on with her job.

Time passed by with each contraction but it seemed to be going on forever. Clara was getting tired now, but sleep was out of the question. Danny had resorted to coffee to stay awake with her, but it was late into the night and there was still little sign of an end.

"Why don't you want out little one?" Clara rubbed her stomach gently, "you seemed so keen," she sighed softly.

"Maybe they just realised how nice it is in there," Danny smiled at her, joining his hand with hers on her stomach. "You're doing amazingly Clara," he told her for maybe the 30th time that night. She didn't respond this time, she'd run out of witty comments and quite frankly she didn't feel amazing right now.

Silence came over the room again for a while but after about 10 minutes there was a huge scream. Danny, who had been on the verge of drifting off, suddenly jumped up in concern. Clara was hunched up (as best she could be) in pain and before they knew it 5 midwives were in the room fussing over her. The machines were beeping a lot and it took Danny a little while to look down and realise there was blood. Before he knew it they were taking the brakes off the bed and rushing her through to theatre. They said he could come, so he followed, holding Clara's hand all the way. They kept speaking about the baby being in distress, but they wouldn't say anymore, maybe they didn't know. Clara was crying, worried sick - the baby wasn't the only one in distress.

Danny had to leave her while he changed - he was pretty sure he'd never changed so fast in his life. When he got into the theatre he was led to stand by Clara's head where he could hold her hand and keep her calm.  
"I've messed it all up," Clara spoke fairly quietly, but Danny heard. He got close to her, stroking her hair back carefully.

"No you haven't, this is not your fault Clara, it's just one of those things. You're in the best place now," he told her. He spent the next few minutes reassuring her, talking rubbish about his classes or whatever else came to mind.

"Mr Pink, would you like to see the birth of your child?" the doctor asked him and Danny look to Clara who nodded at him. Danny stood up again, moving a little so he could see round the drape and gasped slightly as they pulled out the baby. There was a split second of silence before suddenly a loud cry filled the room. Clara squeezed Danny's hand and he looked round, both of them with tears in their eyes. "You have a beautiful baby boy," the doctor told them as the nurses took him over to the incubator. Once they'd done a few checks they took him out and one of them came over to speak to Danny and Clara while the surgeon finished his bit.

"He's doing really well, but he is 4 weeks early so we're taking him straight to the neonatal intensive care unit for a full checkover and he may need to stay there a little while, but that's okay. He's breathing really well which is a great sign so try not to worry. As soon as we can we'll have you up to visit him," she explained. "Obviously the C-section means there'll be a lot for you to think about in the next few weeks, but we'll talk you through all that later."

"When will I be able to walk about again?" Clara asked, suddenly realising something.

"We'll get you moving about later today, but it'll be about 5-6 weeks before you're fully healed," the midwife told her. Clara quickly looked over to Danny.

"Hey, relax, I'll take care of everything," he stroked her hair back again.

"There's still so much to do for the wedding and…" Clara stopped when Danny interrupted.

"Everything major is done, we made sure of that, and anything that requires too much moving about I can do, but a lot of it can be done at home on the sofa too and you can do that. It's gonna be okay and you're going to look absolutely beautiful," he kissed her forehead. "I love you so much." Clara accepted that and lay back as they finished up, worn out from the events and shut her eyes.

When she woke she was back in the room from before and there was sunlight. She glanced around to find the clock - just gone 6am. Danny wasn't there, she didn't know what to do. Then she remembered - her son was somewhere in this building and she had no idea where, or how he was. She sat up, ignoring the pain and going to swing her legs around when the midwife walked in.  
"Woah woah no you don't, not alone anyway," she stopped her, "back into bed so I can check you over Miss Oswald."

"Oh please, Clara, Miss Oswald makes you sound like one of my pupils," she smiled a little, "how is he?"

"He's being a little supported with his breathing and his blood sugar levels were a bit low but it's looking very good. Your partner just went to visit him," she told her as she took her blood pressure.

"When can I go?" she asked, just wanting to see her son.

"Well all your obs are looking good, your bleeding seems under control, I think we can get you in a wheelchair so just give me a couple of minutes" the midwife left the room again and Clara lay back.

Eventually she got taken upstairs to the ward and found Danny sat by the incubator. The little boy inside was so small, so fragile, but he looked much better than Clara had expected. The midwife wheeled her over beside Danny and put the brakes on the chair. "Any problems I'll be just outside," she told them before leaving.

"How are you feeling sweetheart?" he asked, taking her hand.

Clara couldn't take her eyes off their little boy, he was perfect, he was strong, just like his Dad. "Perfect," Clara told him, "I don't care about the discomfort, it was all worth it," she put her hand in through the little holes in the side to touch his hand carefully. "Have you slept?"

"A little, I'm okay don't worry," he smiled. "I do have to go into work though, they can't cover me properly till next week…"

"The nurse said I probably won't get out until Friday anyway, it's okay," she told him. "At least this one waited until I had left."

"Clearly wanted to spend as much time with his Mummy as he could," Danny smiled, "he's so beautiful Clara."

"I can't quite believe he's ours? We've only had 3 months to prepare it's all happened so fast," she sounded scared.

Danny knew what to say, "Clara we were engaged in a matter of weeks. We moved in a month. We're getting married within a year. We do everything quickly and it's worked out pretty darn well so far," he told her. Clara looked up at him briefly and smiled.

"How do you do that? You always know how to make me feel so much better." Danny kissed her head softly.

"You need to phone your Dad," he told her, Clara vaguely responded in agreement "and Adrian of course."

"One of those will be a much more enjoyable conversation than the other," she sighed.

"It's his grandson Clara, he will be here in an instant," Danny spoke positively, but they both knew what had happened when they told him about the pregnancy.

" _You're not even married yet!" It was hardly the response Clara had expected when she informed him she was pregnant._

" _Aren't I? Damn I knew there was something I was missing," she rolled her eyes._

" _Clara don't talk to your father like that!" Linda butted in and Clara just shook her head in despair._

" _You're going to be a grandad and the first thing you're concerned about is that I'm not married yet? I mean really?" she despaired, Linda had more of an effect on him than even she realised sometimes. "Dad I'm 24 weeks along, this is going to happen in 4 months whether you like it or not. If you don't like it, you don't have to be involved Dad, but it was your right to know so I've told you," she held her hands up and walked out of the room._

 _That left Danny alone in the room with Dave and Linda and he was far from pleased. "She's your daughter, and whatever she says she's actually scared right now. Everything she's been through in the last few months and not a word of support has come from you Dave. I hope you're proud of yourself Mr Oswald." He walked out after Clara._

"He was coming round to the idea, and once he sees this little man he'll be so happy," Danny told her. "Do you want me to make the call?"

"No, no I'll do it when I get back down. There's a few people that need to know - I'll try and get hold of friends from work before the meeting but then I guess you'll have to break the news… there's so much to think about…" Clara rubbed her head. Danny squeezed her hand a little to bring her back to him.

"Relax, it's going to be fine. Is there anyone you want me to ring?" he asked.

"Could you ring Greg and Marlene? They'll want to know and I can't ring everyone - plus you seem to be getting on well," she smiled.

"They're lovely, and they really care about you," Clara smiled a little, "I'll ring them when I arrive at work. Speaking of which I need to get home and change…"

"You go, I'm okay here, see you tonight?"

"You'll never keep me away," he smiled, kissing her softly before disappearing.

That left Clara alone with their son. It occurred to her they hadn't even thought of names yet, but that was okay for now. He was so small, but so beautiful and everything she could have wished for. After a while she had to go back down to the ward and started to make the phone called. Adrian practically screamed down the phone at her, promising to go and visit that afternoon. Her Dad… she couldn't really tell, but he was coming down at lunch. She phoned various other people, texting a few other and by the time she had done she was shattered.

Clara woke and heard whispers in the room. She slowly opened her eyes and saw her Dad sat beside her, talking to the midwife. He quickly diverted his attention when he saw she was awake.  
"You looked just like your Mum as you slept there," he smiled, "how are you doing?"

"Tired, but okay. Have you seen him?" Clara asked.

Dave nodded, "they took me up while you slept, I hope that's okay? He's beautiful Clara, absolutely beautiful."

"He's your grandson," she replied, "and this is the first time you've really shown any interest…" she sighed - the conversation was necessary.

"I'm sorry, I've really let you down recently and it's not fair. I'm here to support you and your little man now," he smiled.

"And Danny?" she questioned.

"Yes, and Danny," Dave replied but she wasn't 100% convinced. "Anyway, tell me how this ended up happening?!"

Clara explained everything and they had a couple of laughs over it all. It felt nice to be chatting to her Dad like normal, but she was still unsure about how things would be once Linda was around. They were still talking when the door opened and Tom's parents walked in.

"What are you doing here?!" Dave stood up angrily and Clara grabbed his hand, "no they have no right!"

"They have every right! Now sit down or so help me I'll get out of this bed and make you," Clara told him. Evidently the hormones hadn't settled down completely yet. She looked back round to Greg and Marlene, "I'm sorry, we're still catching up," she smiled. "Thank you for coming."

"That's alright, we got you and Danny a couple of bits…" Marlene handed over a little gift back and Clara stretched up a little to hug her.

"Thank you so much," she looked inside to see multiple different outfits, "oh this is so generous, I can't wait to see him in them."

"There's a mix in there - we already had the newborn ones but there's some prem outfits too," Clara had to wipe at her face quickly.

"Sorry, hormones," she smiled through the tears, "thank you so much." Clara looked round to see Dave sat by the bed looking a little confused by the scene in front of him.

"They've been around for me more than you have recently Dad. They've lost one son and practically disowned the other and I'm at the heart of it all, but they supported me and I can't thank them enough for that," she told him.

Dave nodded and stood up, "I'll give you some time together, I'll come back later," he told her and Clara let him go.

"One step at a time eh?" she commented once he'd gone but quickly turned her focus back.

#-#-#-#

By the time Danny had got back to the hospital Clara was shattered. She'd made him promise to go home, have a shower and eat a decent meal before he returned but in the meantime she'd had visitor after visitor, including a very overexcited Adrian. She couldn't quite understand why so many people wanted to come when they knew they couldn't see the baby yet, but they still came.

"How're you?" she asked as Danny sat down, "have you actually slept at all?"

"I had a cheeky nap in my free I'll have you know," he grinned, "how about you? You doing okay?"

"Mmm, just a constant stream of visitors has done me in a little. I went back up to see the little man after lunch though, he's doing really well. His sugar levels have stabilised now," she told Danny. "You know, we need a name for him…"

"You got any thoughts?" Danny asked her. Clara pulled out her phone and bought up the picture she'd taken earlier.

"I really like Ethan," she told him as she looked, "I think it suits him."

"Clara that's perfect, it's beautiful," he told her. "Do I get to pick the middle name?"

"As long as it goes okay…" she chuckled, "of course."

"I thought Thomas," he said and Clara quickly looked up at him in shock, "I just thought it'd be a good way of remembering him, and I'm sure our son would be honoured." He took Clara's hand and she didn't quite know what to say. "Ethan Thomas, it flows wonderfully."

"We should go and tell him," Clara finally got the words out and Danny nodded, leaving the room to get permission from the nurse before finding a wheelchair.

They made it up to NICU and sat beside the incubator. Both of them put a hand in and the other holding them together.  
"Welcome to the world Ethan Thomas Pink," Clara stroked his hand carefully with her finger. "You're gonna love it."


	27. Chapter 27

_**And in a sudden dramatic turn of events… this is the last chapter of Summer Camp!  
I know, I'm sad too, but I think this one would be best left here. **_

_**In happier news, I've recently started a new story - Trespass, and am in the process of beginning a boarding school AU which should be up soon. So if you want to see either of those check out my page or click on the subscribe button below! (You know you want to… ;) )**_

 _ **Enjoy…**_

 **Epilogue**

"Ethan!" Clara called out into the garden to stop the 3 year old from going near the pond. She then threw the nearest teatowel at Danny, "oi you - watch your son closer will you?" she grinned. "Come inside you two, nearly dinner time for the little man," Clara stepped back inside the kitchen and finished up sorting his dinner. Danny got him inside and helped wash his hands before getting him to sit up at the table. He went back into the kitchen as Clara was serving up and smiled.

"You look nervous," he observed, "Clara he's 3, he'll be alright for 2 nights."

"I know I know… just… first time and all that? Well, first time since the honeymoon. Anything could happen…" Clara sighed but Danny just rolled his eyes, spinning her round to look at him. "He's incredibly excited, as should you be, this is our first time alone since we got married," Danny kissed her softly, "we've got a lot of catching up to do." Clara chuckled at him and took his hand briefly.

"I can't wait, I also can't quite believe we've been married 3 years tomorrow…" she smiled.

"Mummy dinner!" came the call from the dining room and they both started chuckling.

"That's your cue. I'll go and bring the cases down," Danny smiled, kissing her head gently before making his way upstairs.

#-#-#-#

Once Clara had taken her Dad through Ethan's needs for the 100th time and Danny had managed to drag her out of the house they were finally on the way to their holiday. After the drive to the airport he finally managed to stop her checking her phone by stealing it off her once they'd checked in.  
"Hey!" she tried to grab it back off her but Danny shook his head and held it out of her reach. "Danny!"

"Nah uh, we are going to enjoy this holiday and you are not going to worry about Ethan all week! Relax, please," he gave her a stern look and Clara finally gave up reaching for the phone.

"I'm sorry, I've been a nightmare all day haven't I?" she looked a little sheepish and Danny nodded. "Keep it, this is our time now - you're right. Holiday, happiness, relaxing," she smiled and took his hand, "I'm just not used to it."

Danny chuckled put her phone in his pocket, "you deserve this so much," he put an arm around her. "I love you," Danny kissed her, "remember this time three years ago then?"

"How the hell could I forget you nearly punching my Dad?" Clara chuckled as they sat down.

 _Clara had finally got herself back on her feet and with the wedding only 2 days away she was grateful for her range of movement returning. Ethan was asleep and she'd just finished packing for the honeymoon when the door went. Clara made her way downstairs and opened the door, rolling her eyes and leaving the door, walking back inside to leave her Dad to come in. "I was wondering how long it'd take before you showed up, you know when you came to the hospital I thought you were actually trying."_

" _Linda's not coming to the wedding," Dave told her, shutting the door behind him and going in. Clara turned around at that, surprised he would go anywhere without her. "She's not going to come between us anymore."_

" _Where on earth is this coming from?" Clara asked, sitting down._

" _I left her. When I left the hospital… I realised what she'd done to us. I went home, we had a big fight, she wouldn't listen, she left. Before you start I didn't want you to stress about me ontop of everything else so I got myself sorted before coming round. That's all there is to know."_

 _Clara sat there with her mouth slightly open in shock at what he was telling her, "I… Dad I'm sorry, thank you," she couldn't lie and say she was upset about it, but he knew that too._

" _Don't be sorry, I'm fine and I can't wait to see my little girl get married in 2 days time," he smiled. "How's the little man doing?"_

" _He's great, the doctors are so impressed with his progress he was home much earlier than they expected. He's napping at the moment but I'm sure he'll be awake soon," she smiled. "Sit down Dad you're making this awkward," she smiled and pulled him down to sit on the sofa._

" _And what about you? How's my girl doing?" he asked, sounding more sincere than he had done for a long time now._

" _Good, really good, recovered so much better than I thought and actually surprisingly calm about the wedding - Danny's basically organised everything," she told him._

" _He's a good one," Dave told her, "he really loves you sweetheart, he's cared for you much more than I have recently."_

" _He's perfect," Clara smiled and blushed, "sorry, still has that effect on me. Oh, he'll be home soon, I don't know how he'll react…" she stood up as she heard the door unlocking and ran over to greet him._

" _Well this is very keen, you're looking good today," he smiled and kissed her before shutting the door and going into the lounge, pausing as soon as he spotted Dave. "What's he doing here?"_

" _Danny don't…" she took his hand and Dave stood up. "He left Linda, it's over, he's stayed away to get himself together and now he's here for us."_

" _Like he was when you had to go through that trial? Or when you nearly died? Or when his grandson was fighting for his life in hospital?" Dave lowered his head as Danny spoke._

" _I know I've not been anywhere near a good father recently, but I want to make up for that. Starting with tonight, you two deserve a night together. It's 2 days until the wedding, you've been busy nonstop for weeks. Just go for a meal out, take your mind off things for an hour or two, I can watch Ethan." Danny didn't reply straight away._

" _That's lovely Dad, thank you. I'll wait till he wakes so I can feed him and make sure he's sorted and then we'll be okay for an hour or two, I'll just go and check on him," she grabbed Danny's hand and led him upstairs, leading him into the bedroom._

" _Do you really trust him?" Danny asked and Clara smiled at him. "What?"_

" _You will never stop worrying about me will you?" she smiled, "whatever has happened, I haven't seen my Dad look at me the way he did today for a long time. He's genuine, and now I know that I know I can trust him I think we should get out and spend an hour together," she kissed him gently._

 _Danny smiled, "alright, if you say so, I'll get changed."_

Clara woke up the next morning in his arms, rubbing her eyes at the sunlight shining in and looking at the clock. This was the first time she'd been able to wake up on her own in 3 years and it was actually pretty good. Danny was still asleep, she smiled and looked up at him, watching his steady breathing. They'd arrived late last night at the hotel after a flight delay and basically gone straight to bed, although not after making the most of finally being alone. They lay among tangled sheets, another sight that Clara could barely place the last time it had happened. Children changed people, changed relationship, some people said for the worst but Clara would have no interest in going back to before Ethan. He'd been their shining light, growing up too fast but still a bundle of joy.

"Mmm good morning beautiful," Clara smiled again as Danny opened his eyes and spoke. "Well isn't this nice to wake up to," he ran a hand through her hair. "You sleep okay?"

"Best night's sleep I've had since we got back from honeymoon," she chuckled and kissed him softly. "What do you want to do today then?"

"Mmmm as tempting as staying here is, we've got the whole of Barcelona to explore. Shall we get up and go down for breakfast?" Danny suggested and Clara nodded, sitting up with the sheet pulled around her.

"I'll go shower, see you in a bit," she smiled and got up, heading off to the bathroom.

They spent the day on the tour bus, hopping on and off to get a good feel for the city and listing places they could spend more time other days. It was long, they walked a long way and when they returned to the hotel they were knackered.

Clara flopped down on the bed and Danny chuckled, "not as young as I used to be you know," she grinned and Danny rolled his eyes, lying down next to her.

"Well you still look as beautiful as the day I met you," he reassured her, taking her hand.

"Oh sure, I'm sure I looked really hot shouting at you in that corridor," she chuckled, "so, 3 years since the great hen and stag nights…"

"Why did we ever agree to those the night before the wedding? Remind me?" he asked, linking fingers with her properly and holding their hands up between them.

"Because anytime before that we were kinda busy…" Clara chuckled, "I still can't believe Adrian persuaded you to go to a club!"

Danny shook his head, chuckling, "honestly? Me neither…"

' _Good luck tonight' Danny chuckled at Clara's text and went to reply but his phone was stolen out of his hand. "There'll be no texting tonight young man, Clara will be fine, your son will be asleep and you will be smashed," Adrian grinned, putting Danny's phone in his pocket._

" _You know I never had you for the getting drunk type Adrian," Danny replied, grabbing a beer._

" _Ah you're about to learn a lot Mr Pink," he chuckled and they got going._

 _It was a few hours into the night when they left another bar and went to the club. "Oh no no no!" Danny stopped as they walked towards iit, "nah uh I am not dancing."_

" _Oh you so are!" Adrian chuckled, a couple of the other guys cheering him on. "Don't be a wimp Pink!" Danny groaned._

" _Okay okay okay! Not for long… and I'm still not dancing," Danny mumbled and Adrian rolled his eyes._

" _I'm so gonna change that," Danny was rather bemused at these circumstances, but people had hidden features that was for sure._

 _Clara on the other hand had a slightly lighter deal - doctor's orders and all that. She was at Beth's house with Helen and a couple of others, wine in hand, music on and pamper kits at the ready.  
"So what exactly did Adrian have planned for Danny tonight then?" Beth asked and Clara shook her head, giggling. "Are you really tipsy already?"_

" _I haven't drunk for like 9 months give me a break," Clara chuckled, "and I have no idea, he wouldn't tell me. All he'd say is that he'd get him back in one piece so goodness actually knows," she grinned._

" _Adrian's a dark horse isn't he?!" Helen joined them, sitting down beside Clara._

" _Honestly when I went out with him a couple of years ago it was mental, I've never been so drunk! The memories… or lack of… almost haunt me," she grinned. "I'm pretty glad he's not organising tonight we'll put it that way."_

" _I think that's a story we need to hear sometime, but right now - party time!" Beth grinned, turning the music up._

 _They danced around, Clara finally able to let her hair down and enjoy the night. She checked her phone occasionally, but Ethan was with Tom's parents who were going to care for him, with her Dad's help, until they got back from honeymoon and they'd spent a lot of time with him and promised her they'd ring if there were any issues. This was a night to enjoy and she'd made herself promise she would do just that. Danny had planned the perfect wedding, he deserved for her to enjoy that._

" _Oi, Oswald, where're you hiding?" Clara came back to reality and smiled at Beth who was topping up her glass, "do I even need to ask what you were thinking of?"_

" _I think you know," Clara chuckled and took another sip, "I'm back I'm back. Let's do this… wait, what are we doing?" Helen and Beth both laughed and Clara turned around to see a man who appeared behind her and started to take his jacket off. "Ohhhh nooo no no no no no!" Clara shook her head as she finished another sip of her drink. "Beth you promised!"_

" _I promised nothing," Beth winked, "come on he's hot!" Clara chuckled a little nervously, blushing, "there I knew you agreed! Now look and enjoy," she told her. Clara turned her head back a little reluctantly and looked around but was somewhat surprised to see the man's jacket back on. There were more laughs from behind her now, clearly everyone was involved in whatever this was._

 _The man picked up something from the floor and handed it over, "Jade was right, this was pretty fun," he chuckled. "Enjoy your night, see you tomorrow," he grinned and left. Clara spun around, hunting the art teacher out in the crowd._

 _Jade grinned, walking forward, "that would be my plus one… he's the only one you hadn't met," they were all still laughing a little, "go on, open the bag!"_

 _Clara grabbed the nearest chair and sat down with the bag on the floor in front of her. She pulled out the tissue paper on the top and saw what was inside. "Oh my gosh what are you lot like?!" Clara pulled out the underwear._

" _Well you know, gotta look good for the big night," Beth grinned, "and they are very nice," Clara had to agree, but she still didn't quite know how to react._

" _So you got Jade's boyfriend to pretend to be a stripper to deliver some underwear?" she asked, laughing and sitting back._

" _That's about the long and the short of it, now are we going to play twister or not because I have been waiting all night!" Jade told them and Clara laughed, putting the underwear back in the bag and standing up._

Clara woke up the next morning to see Danny watching over her. "Happy Anniversary beautiful," she kissed him gently and smiled.

"You should've woken me," Clara smiled, running a thumb gently along his cheek.

Danny smiled, "you looked too beautiful, besides - we're on holiday." Clara giggled as he kissed her cheek gently. "Pool day then?" she nodded, "fantastic."

They made their way down to the pool, grabbing sun loungers. Danny went to lay down but Clara grinned and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the pool. She jumped in and looked up at him stood on the edge, "come on it's nice in here!" Danny chuckled at her and jumped in beside her. They spent a while swimming up and down, occasionally splashing each other. Eventually Clara stopped and started floating on the top of the water, staring up at the blue sky.

"It was like this when we got married, blue and sunny," she smiled as Danny stopped beside her. "I remember waking up and being partially blinded by it, but it was perfect weather." She looked up to see Danny smiling happily. "What's that for?"

"What? I was just smiling!" he shrugged. Clara sat up a bit, giving him a look, "okay I was thinking about how beautiful you looked on our wedding day. I remember when I saw you walking down the aisle… I'll never forget that moment. I just remember thinking how lucky it was, that it must be a dream." Danny admitted.

Clara blushed a little and smiled back, kissing him softly. "It's funny, because I was thinking the same thing just now."

 _She wasn't sure if the sun had woken her or the excitable banging on the bedroom door, but Clara was definitely sure that she had a hangover. Sitting up, she chuckled to herself a little at the events of the previous night before calling for Beth to come in. The door opened and in she came, Ethan in her arms._

" _What's he doing here?" Clara asked, not aware that he'd come back._

" _Greg and Marlene are downstairs, they thought you might want to see this one," she smiled and handed him over._

 _Clara took him in her arms and smiled down at Ethan, kissing his head softly. "You being a good boy?" she asked and smiled as he wriggled a little in her arms. "I thought as much. You are going to be the star of the show today you know that? Gonna steal all my limelight I bet," Clara rolled her eyes a little as he fell asleep. "Alright I get the picture," she looked up to Beth. "Thanks. Are they still downstairs?"_

" _Yep, weren't sure how long you wanted him. Did you want me to take him while you get up? We will have to get moving soon…" Beth told her, looking at the clock._

" _Yes Miss," Clara grinned. "I'll chuck some clothes on and come and say hi, we can start properly when they've gone," she smiled and handed Ethan to her carefully. "Walk slowly or he'll wake up!" she warned him before shutting the door behind Beth and getting dressed._

 _Once she'd quickly showered and thrown on her jeans and a top, Clara threw her hair up out the way and headed downstairs. As soon as she entered the living room Marlene jumped up and hugged her, "I'm so happy this day has finally come for you!" she squeezed her, "I just had a feeling you'd want to see your little boy before the service."_

" _Thank you, he's exactly what I needed to see this morning. Best hangover cure," she chuckled. "Has he been okay for you?" Clara sat down on the arm of the sofa and took Ethan back from Beth._

" _Absolutely perfect, slept straight through you've struck lucky here," Marlene told her._

" _I'm glad, I did wonder if the change of environment would phase him but clearly not, although he's already napping again- gets that from his Dad," Clara smiled._

" _You know we really should start getting you ready…" Beth was already getting anxious. Clara rolled her eyes and nodded. "He'll wake when he's hungry. See you at the church I guess," Clara put Ethan back in his pushchair carefully. "Be good little man, I'll see you in a few hours."_

 _After a quick round of hugs, Greg and Marlene left with Ethan and Beth stood up with a determined look in her eye. "Right. Makeup, then hair. Helen's arriving at half 10 to do that."_

" _I'm trusting you, I haven't got a clue what's going on, Danny's made a pretty good job of that." Beth grinned knowingly and grabbed her hand, "alright I'm coming!"_

 _Clara let Beth do her makeup, trying not to be annoyed by how long she was taking over it. Clara had to admit that she was very good at it though, so it would probably be worth it. Just as she finished and applied the finishing touches, the doorbell rang. Helen came in and joined them, working on her hair. They chatted, laughed a little about the previous night and before they knew it - it was dress time._

 _She walked downstairs and into the lounge where they were waiting, clearing her throat to get their attention. Both women turned around and gasped slightly, "Clara…" Beth finally broke the silence, "it's gorgeous. You look incredible."_

" _Danny's going to be blown away, it's a perfect choice for you," Helen told her._

 _Clara smiled, "thank you, I just wanted something simple," she explained and took a deep breath. "I guess it's time…"_

" _Ah yes! Car's outside, you lead the way," Helen smiled, much to Clara's confusion, "don't ask, just go Oswald."_

" _Ah, can't use that for much longer," Clara grinned and pointed at them both before opening the door and stepping out. her Dad was stood at the end of the path all dressed up in a suit and ready to go and behind him - his classic car, his pride and joy, and something Clara had loved her whole life. "Oh my gosh Dad…"_

" _Got her going again for you, and don't you look incredible, my little girl," Dave walked up to her and took her hand, kissing it gently. "Danny said you talked about the car a bit, he asked if I'd drive you over and how could I possibly refuse? You'd better hop in or I'll be late!" Clara chuckled and smiled, making her way over to the car where she was helped in._

 _Dave drove them down to the church, it wasn't too far but the drive was special for Clara. When they arrived he came round and helped her out. "You ready?"_

" _I think so… i'm suddenly really nervous and I don't know why Dad," Clara took a deep breath, looking up at the church._

" _Because it's a big step, but Clara you're going to be so happy I just know it. You've already got a beautiful little boy, you've won the jackpot." Dave told her, "I'm with you all the way."_

 _Clara took another deep breath and nodded, "let's do this," she smiled and looked around to make sure her bridesmaids were ready before moving towards the door._

Danny waved his hand in front of her face, "hey you alright?" he asked as they lay by the pool having climbed out. Clara turned to look at him and smiled.

"You know I really think I am," she reached for his hand, "sorry, I was just thinking about the lead up to the wedding, how I was feeling then… I can't believe how scared I was," Clara chuckled.

Danny rubbed a thumb over the back of her hand, "we have such a wonderful life, I couldn't imagine having it with anyone but the woman who shouted at me within 2 seconds of meeting me."

"Mmmm and I can't imagine my life without the arrogant guy who walked into me in the corridor," they both tried to keep a straight face but ended up laughing.

They were happy. Very, very happy.


End file.
